World Oceans Reach Record High Temperature

(Patria) - World oceans reached a record high temperature this week, raising concerns about the planet's climate, marine life and coastal communities.

The surface temperature of the oceans rose to 20.96 degrees Celsius yesterday, according to data from the European Union's climate observatory.

The previous record of 20.95 degrees was recorded in March 2016, a spokesperson for the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service told AFP.

The tested samples do not include those from polar regions, AFP reports, without specifying whether they were included in earlier measurements.

Oceans absorb 90 percent of the excess heat generated by human activity since the beginning of the industrial era, scientists warn, Hina reports.

That heat continues to accumulate as greenhouse gases, mostly from burning oil, gas and coal, build up in the Earth's atmosphere.

The average ocean temperature since April has been breaking seasonal records worldwide.

- An ocean heatwave is an immediate threat to part of marine life. We are already witnessing the direct result of coral bleaching in Florida, and I expect more consequences to appear - said Piers Forster from the International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds.

Ocean warming is predicted to have other impacts on underwater life, including migrations of certain species and the spread of invasive ones. This could threaten fish stocks and therefore food security in parts of the world.

Warmer oceans absorb carbon dioxide less easily, thus reinforcing the vicious cycle of global warming. And higher temperatures are to follow as the El Nino phenomenon, which warms temperatures, has only just begun, AFP writes.

- While there are certainly short-term factors, the main long-term cause is undoubtedly the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels - said Rowan Sutton, director of climate research at the University of Reading.

The latest figures show records being broken across the globe. On Monday, a temperature of 38.3 degrees was recorded off the coast of Florida.

Last week, North Atlantic surface temperatures rose to a record high average of 24.9 degrees, according to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The North Atlantic typically peaks in temperature only in September. Since March, the month when the sea begins to warm after the winter months, temperatures have been higher than in previous years, and the difference from past records has been growing in recent weeks.

This area has become a key point for studying the warming of the world's oceans. The Mediterranean earlier in July broke its daily record with a median temperature of 28.71 degrees.

Marine heatwaves are twice as frequent as in 1982, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). By 2100, they could be twice as intense if emissions of harmful gases are not reduced.

The use of coal, oil and gas is expected to be at the centre of discussions at the upcoming COP28, the UN climate talks, to be held in Dubai at the end of the year.