Heat sink spotted off New Zealand coast

A massive heat sink is developing in the ocean to the east of New Zealand, with temperatures as much as 6 degrees Celsius higher than usual.

The blob, which is about 2000 kilometres wide, was identified by thermal imaging from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A lot of sun in the area combined with very little wind has made it one of the hottest ocean spots on the planet right now.

The red area in the heat map indicates temperatures at least 4C above average, and the white areas at the centre indicate temperatures 6C above average.

Last summer, a marine heatwave around New Zealand waters led to hot, stuffy air temperatures across much of the country, and scientists observed subtropical fish swimming far further south.

In this instance, it doesn’t appear the ocean heat will have much effect on land temperatures as the currents are moving towards South America.

Another ‘‘blob’’-type marine heatwave that hit the Atlantic Ocean between 2014 and 2016 is thought to have contributed to an unusual amount of grey whale deaths.

At the start of December, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research released its climate outlook for the 2019-20 summer, which predicted several heatwaves, especially in the new year due to less windy conditions.

‘‘Our ocean temperatures are warming up, and the last couple of years we’ve had marine heatwaves in our coastal waters,’’ forecaster Ben Noll said at the time. ‘‘We live in a warming world.’’