New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer shows that ocean heat has already been trending higher than last year.
Per CNN, the world’s oceans have experienced “an entire year of unprecedented heat,” as global surface ocean temperatures started breaking daily temperatures last March.
Last year was the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1955 and the last decade has been the warmest since the 1800s, according to NASA.
This January, research published in the Nature journal found that the world’s oceans absorbed more heat in 2023 than in any other year.
Gregory C. Johnson, a NOAA oceanographer, told CNN the temperature rise last year was “equivalent to about two decades’ worth of warming in a single year,” and that the spike is surprising.
“Heat stored in the ocean causes its water to expand, which is responsible for one-third to one-half of global sea level rise,” NASA explained. “Most of the added energy is stored at the surface, at a depth of zero to 700 meters.”
It also said that 90% of global warming occurs in the ocean. Warming in recent decades caused by increasing greenhouse gases is part of that heat, NASA added. Oceans cover 70% of the planet.
“The effects of ocean warming include sea level rise due to thermal expansion, coral bleaching, accelerated melting of Earth’s major ice sheets, intensified hurricanes, and changes in ocean health and biochemistry,” said NASA.
This year, El Niño – a natural climate pattern that leads to higher-than-average temperatures – has also contributed to warmer waters.