The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that the global average sea surface temperature reached a record high of 21.1 degrees Celsius (69.98 degrees Fahrenheit) last Friday and Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 21.09 degrees Celsius set in March 2024. The agency warned that a rapidly strengthening El Niño phenomenon and human-induced climate change are putting "unprecedented stress" on the world's oceans.