Earth just had its second-warmest April in temperature records that date back to the 1800s, trailing only last year, per the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Why it matters: These monthly analyses offer fresh signs of a warming planet from one of the major stewards of global climate data.
With four months of data in, climate scientist Zeke Hausfather posted that 2025 is likely to be the world's second-warmest on record.
Driving the news: Last month was 1.51°C above the estimated 1850-1900 average that Copernicus uses to define the pre-industrial era, per the comprehensive ERA5 dataset they use.
And it was the 21st month in the last 22 months with average air temperatures was more than 1.5°C — a key Paris Agreement benchmark — above that era.
The bottom line: "Continuous climate monitoring is an essential tool for understanding and responding to the ongoing changes of our climate system," said Samantha Burgess, a top Copernicus official, in a statement.