The rapid warming of the oceans worries scientists  

They sound the alarm

Sea surface temperatures continue to break one record after another for more than a month, taking the state of Earth’s oceans into uncharted territory. Following record temperatures in the Arctic and Antarctic, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is recording a huge number of ocean heat waves occurring around the world, putting pressure on aquatic life. Despite the intensity of the phenomena, however, scientists cannot say that it was not expected.

While it’s important that our models are proven to work, it’s scary to see climate change actually happening. And that’s just the beginning. – Jens Terhaar, WHOI biochemist

The previous record temperatures were set in 2016 during El Nino, a climate condition that warms the oceans more. In fact, there are signs that El Nino is around the corner again and this means that ocean temperatures will rise even more next year.

If we have a new El Nino to add to this, then we are talking about an additional global warming of 0.2-0.25 degrees Celsius, bringing several parts of the planet the total temperature increase above 1.5 degrees for the first time.

The numbers show that the scientists’ predictions have a very high degree of certainty. Researchers fear that if this huge deviation from past temperatures is verified, it could mean that the Earth’s oceans have reached the limits of their capacity to absorb heat. And of course this is scary since the oceans absorb 90% of the heat of climate systems.

Rates of temperature increase show an increase of three degrees Celsius by 2100.

It is true that we are already experiencing some effects. Others we cannot avoid. But research by hundreds of scientists clearly shows that our choices matter. It is not too late to avoid the worst effects. – Katharin Hayhoe, environmental scientist