Yikes! An all-time high has been recorded with our ocean temperatures, and this is serious news for our planet’s health. The culprit? Climate change.
According to the folks over at Copernicus, the EU’s climate change service, this week the average daily global sea surface temp smashed the previous record set in 2016. It clocked in at a balmy 20.96C (69.73F), which is a lot hotter than usual for this time of year.
A little reminder here – our oceans play a key role in controlling the climate. They absorb heat, serve up half of the Earth’s oxygen, and help shape our weather patterns.
But the worrisome part? When waters warm up, they can’t absorb as much carbon dioxide, so more of this nasty climate-changing gas sticks around in our atmosphere. This heating can speed up glacier melt, potentially causing sea levels to rise.
The increase in temperature doesn’t sit well with our underwater friends either. Fish and whales are forced to relocate in search for cooler waters, which wrecks havoc on the food chain. Experts caution that if this continues, our fish stocks might take a hit.
Sharks and other fierce creatures might get a little temperamental as things heat up.
“Fancy a dive in? It’s like a warm bubble bath!” Dr Kathryn Lesneski comments. She’s on the frontline, checking out the heatwave situation in the Gulf of Mexico for the good people at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The problem is – the hot weather’s not so hot for marine life. We’re seeing a whole bunch of coral bleaching at the shallow reefs in Florida, and unfortunately, many have already bitten the dust.
“Our oceans are dealing with more pressure now than ever,” chimes in Dr Matt Frost from Plymouth Marine Lab in good old UK. He’s alluding to the harsh reality – our seas are changing, not only because of climate change but also because of pollution and overfishing.
Currently, scientists are looking into why the oceans are unusually warm at the moment. They believe climate change could be the reason, given that it helps heat up the seas as they soak up most of the greenhouse gas emissions’ heat.
Dr. Burgess explains it in a simpler way, “The more fossil fuels we burn, more is the extra heat that oceans end up absorbing. This implies it will take longer for the oceans to stabilize and return to their initial temperatures.”
Besides, it’s interesting to know that our current average ocean temperature has surpassed the previous record set in 2016. In that year, we had a powerful El Niño, a naturally happening climate change phenomenon, in full force.
[sourcelink link=”https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66387537″]
