Which two climate monitoring organizations rated January 2026 as the fifth-warmest January on record?

Global climate monitoring plays a crucial role in understanding our planet's changing environment, and two prominent organizations, the Copernicus Climate Change Service and NASA, are key players in this field. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), an initiative of the European Union, notably reported that January 2026 was the fifth-warmest January on record globally. This assessment, based on their ERA5 dataset, indicated an average surface air temperature of 12.95°C for the month, which was 0.51°C above the 1991-2020 average for January. This finding highlights the ongoing trend of rising global temperatures, even amidst localized cold snaps in certain regions during the same period.

NASA, through its Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), also provides comprehensive global temperature analyses. NASA scientists compile surface air temperature data from numerous meteorological stations worldwide, along with sea surface temperature measurements from ships and buoys and observations from Antarctic research stations. Their long-term observations from space, utilizing a network (Review) of over 20 satellites, are vital for tracking various aspects of Earth's climate, including oceans, land cover, ice, and atmosphere. While specific monthly rankings for January 2026 from NASA were not explicitly detailed in recent releases, their robust monitoring systems consistently contribute to the broader scientific consensus on global temperature trends.

The consistent reporting of such temperature anomalies by leading climate monitoring organizations like Copernicus and NASA underscores the urgency of understanding and addressing climate change. These assessments are not merely statistical exercises; they provide critical data that inform policymakers, researchers, and the public about the accelerating pace of global warming and its potential impacts. By combining data from multiple independent sources, scientists achieve a more complete and reliable picture of our planet's climate, enabling better-informed decisions for adaptation and mitigation strategies.