WORLD’S OCEANS SET NEW SURFACE TEMPERATURE RECORDǷEU MONITOR
PARIS—The world’s oceans set a new temperature record this week, raising concerns about knock-on effects on the planet’s climate, marine life and coastal communities.
The temperature of the oceans’ surface rose to 20.96 degrees Celsius on July 30, according to European Union climate observatory data.
The previous record was 20.95 degrees Celsius in March 2016, a spokesperson for the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service told AFP on Friday.
The samples tested excluded polar regions.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which uses a different database, has also recorded a similar trend in recent months.
It said the average sea surface temperature record was reached on April 4 this year at 21.06 degrees Celsius, overtaking the previous high of 21.01 degrees Celsius in March 2016. On August 1, average temperatures were at 21.03 degrees Celsius, it said.
Oceans have absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat produced by human activity since the dawn of the industrial age, according to scientists.
This excess heat continues to accumulate as greenhouse gases—mainly from burning oil, gas and coal—build up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Globally, the average ocean temperature has been topping seasonal heat records on a regular basis since April.
“The ocean heat wave is an immediate threat to some marine life,” said Piers Forster of the International Center for Climate at Britain’s University of Leeds.
“We are already seeing coral bleaching in Florida as a direct result and I expect more impacts will surface.”
The overheating of the oceans is predicted to have other effects on marine plant and animal life too, including on the migration of certain species and the spread of invasive species.
This could threaten fish stocks and thus undermine food security in certain parts of the globe.
Warmer oceans are also less capable of absorbing carbon dioxide, reinforcing the vicious cycle of global warming.