Environment

Last Month Broke Ocean Temperature Records, Scientists Say

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Staff
Coral bleaching

Coral bleaching is one of the effects of higher ocean temperatures. Image: Wikimedia

The Inertia

Ocean temperatures hit a record high in February.  While this year’s El Niño climate pattern is partly to blame, scientists’ observations also point to the effects of anthropogenic climate change.

According to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, average global sea surface temperature was 69.91 degrees Fahrenheit. As Reuters reports, this surpassed the previous record of 69.77 F, set in August 2023, in a data set that goes back to 1979.

The marine heatwave mirrors conditions on land. The same month was the hottest February on record, continuing a streak of nine months that were similarly their hottest on record.

This year’s El Niño climate pattern has been adding extra fuel to the fire, so to speak. However, the recorded temperatures cannot be explained by that phenomena alone, pointing to anthropogenic climate change as a strong driver for the concerning conditions.

“What is more surprising is that sea surface temperatures are at record levels over regions far away from the centre of the El Niño action, such as the tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean,” said climate scientist Richard Allan of the University of Reading.
Such high temperatures are known to have a bevy of negative effects for both nature and humans. One threat that particularly affects the surfing community is coral bleaching, which can cause reef ecosystem collapse and exacerbated erosion. On a greater scale, ocean warming can lead to sea level rise due to thermal expansion, accelerated melting of Earth’s major ice sheets and intensified hurricanes.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service stated that El Niño is weakening in the equatorial Pacific, but air temperatures over the oceans are still at an unusually high level.

 
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