April 2026 was the world’s fourth-warmest April in analyses of global weather data going back to 1850, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, or NCEI, reported April 11. NASA and the European Copernicus Climate Change Service rated April 2026 as the third-warmest April. The global-average temperature for January-April 2026 was the fifth-highest on record, NOAA said.
According to NCEI’s statistical analysis, there is about a 93% chance that 2026 will rank among the four warmest years on record. This statistics-based product is not yet designed to explicitly take El Niño or La Niña events into account, so with a global-atmosphere-warming El Niño event about to unfold, the odds may be higher still.
Global land areas had their seventh-warmest April on record in 2026, while global oceans had their second-warmest April, falling just 0.05 degrees Celsius (0.09°F) short of the record set in April 2024, NOAA said. Several continents experienced a top-10 warmest April on record, including Asia (seventh-warmest), Antarctica (eighth-warmest), and Oceania (tied for ninth-warmest). Although North America, South America, Europe, and the Arctic also experienced above-average April temperatures, they did not rank among their top 10.
The world recorded its highest burned area for any January-April during the past 15 years, with more than 150 million hectares burned globally – 22% higher than the previous database high set in 2020 and about double the recent average for this period. In the U.S., the burned area has been close to the highest on record, according to the ECMWF and National Interagency Fire Center. More than a million acres of that U.S. burned area – more than half of the total – was in the Great Plains, mainly in Nebraska, where that state’s worst wildfires on record raged during a record-warm March.
Northern Hemisphere snow cover during April 2026 was below average but did not rank in the top-10 lowest extents since records began in 1967, NOAA said. Season-to-date snowfall through April was at a record high for pockets of southern Canada but at a record low for the contiguous United States in analyses going back to 1940-41.
Record-worst drought and third-warmest April for the U.S.
April 2026 was the third-warmest April in records going back to 1895 for the contiguous United States. Looking at multi-month periods ending in April 2026, it has been the hottest weather on record for all intervals (two-month, three-month, etc.) going back at least five years, according to NOAA.
April 2026 had the worst April drought conditions in contiguous U.S. history, with a Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) of -7.56. The only worse drought conditions in any month on record were in March 2026 (PDSI of -7.85), and during the Dust Bowl months of July-August 1934 (PDSI of -8.09 and -8.42, respectively).
April 2026 was slightly drier than average in the U.S., helping make up for the record dryness that was observed during January-March. The year-to-date January-April period ranks as the second-driest on record, behind only 1910.
At least six U.S. billion-dollar weather disasters so far in 2026
According to Climate Central, the U.S. has suffered five billion-dollar weather disasters as of the beginning of April, with two others still under investigation. We can add at least one more severe weather event from April to that list: insurance broker Aon said on May 1 that a prolonged severe weather outbreak that hit the central and southern United States on April 23-29 will likely bring total economic and insured losses “into the single-digit billions USD.” The outbreak brought large hail, widespread winds, and multiple destructive tornadoes, including a violent EF4. Additionally, severe storms and heavy rainfall affected a large swath of Michigan, resulting in state of emergency declarations.
Odds of a strong El Niño event increasing
An El Niño watch continues in the Eastern Pacific, NOAA reported in its April 9 monthly discussion of the state of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. (NOAA’s next update is scheduled for May 14, and we are planning an ENSO post on May 15.) An El Niño is likely to emerge in May-July 2026 (61% chance), persisting through at least the end of 2026.
As of NOAA’s weekly ENSO update issued May 11, the ocean and atmosphere over the tropical Pacific still reflected ENSO-neutral conditions, but warmer-than-average waters had already spread across most of the equatorial Pacific, and subsurface warmth was increasing.
According to the Columbia University International Research Institute for Climate and Society forecast issued April 20, the August-September-October peak of hurricane season has a 92% chance of El Niño, an 8% chance of ENSO-neutral, and a 0% chance of La Niña. NOAA is giving a 27% chance of strong El Niño conditions being in place during peak hurricane season. El Niño conditions tend to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity through an increase in wind shear. This year’s imminent El Niño event has characteristics similar to how the “super” El Niño event of 1997 looked at this time of year.
Arctic sea ice: second-lowest April extent on record
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic sea ice extent during April 2026 was the second-lowest in the 48-year satellite record, behind only 2019. Since May 6, the extent has been the lowest on record for the date, slightly lower than in 2019, 2018, and 2016. The Arctic had warmer-than-average conditions in April, though not ranking within the top 10 warmest Aprils.
Antarctic sea ice extent in April 2026 was tied for the ninth-lowest on record. The Antarctic had its eighth-warmest April since 1850.
Notable global heat and cold marks for April 2026
Weather records expert Maximiliano Herrera has documented the records listed below in April. Follow him on Bluesky: @extremetemps.bsky.social or X: @extremetemps.
– Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 48.5°C (119.3°F) at El Tule del Real (Mexico), April 29;
– Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -46.9°C (-52.4°F) at Summit, Greenland, April 1;
– Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 41.9°C (107.4°F) at Vioolsdrif, South Africa, April 1; and
– Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: -75.2°C (-103.4°F) at Concordia, Antarctica, April 30.
One all-time national/territorial cold record beaten or tied as of the end of April
- Cuba: 0°C (32.0°F) at Indio Hatuey, February 3
Major weather stations in April: two all-time heat records, no all-time cold records
Among global stations with a record of at least 40 years, two set, not just tied, an all-time heat record in April, and no stations set an all-time cold record:
Pakse (Laos) max. 41.4°C, April 14
Kanyakumari (India) max. 37.6°C, April 20
Nineteen nations or territories have set monthly all-time heat records in 2026
- January (5): U.S. Virgin Islands, Saba, Sao Tome and Principe, Congo Brazzaville, Aruba
- February (7): French Southern Territories, Armenia, Iran, Turkmenistan, U.S. Virgin Islands, USA, Honduras
- March (6): U.S. Virgin Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, United States, Guyana, Somalia, French Southern Territories
- April (1): French Southern Territories
Six nations or territories have set monthly all-time cold records in 2026
- January (1): Cocos Islands
- February (2): Bahamas, Belize
- March (2): Saba, Antarctica
- April (1): Algeria
Hemispherical and continental temperature records of 2026
Lowest April temperature in global history: -76.4°C (-105.5°F) at Vostok, Antarctica, April 25.
Bob Henson contributed to this post
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