The January 2026 global temperature was 1.12°C (2.02°F) above the 20th-century average, ranking as the fifth-warmest January since global records began in 1850.

• This marks the 50th consecutive January (since 1977) with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average. The 10 warmest Januarys on record have occurred since 2007, with the most recent five years (2022–26) among the top 10.
• During January 2026, much-warmer-than-average conditions prevailed across much of the globe's surface, particularly in the Arctic, Greenland, northern and western Canada, the western U.S., Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and parts of Australia, where temperature departures exceeded +2.0°C (+3.6°F).
• Record-high January temperatures covered 7.0% of the Earth's surface, notably in Greenland, Africa, Asia, the Atlantic, and parts of the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

Assessing the Global Temperature and Precipitation Analysis in Janaury 2026