We Have Entered The Era Of “ Global Boiling ” By David Hastings
The ocean absorbs 90 percent of the excess heat generated by burning fossil fuels and deforestation . Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is the primary driver of long-term global warming . Today , humanity is officially in uncharted waters . According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service , in February 2024 , the average global sea surface temperature ( SST ) reached 21.06 degrees Celsius , the highest level ever recorded by the service . The previous record of 20.98 degrees Celsius was set in August 2023 .
Overall , 2023 saw record-breaking marine temperatures , and the likely culprit is human-caused climate change . The extraordinarily high sea surface temperatures recorded in 2023 provide a frightening glimpse into the planet ’ s future . A study by researchers at the University of Reading and Imperial College London , published in March 2024 in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , found that temperatures in the top 100 meters of ocean basins around the world have steadily increased since 1980 . The Atlantic basin , in particular , has experienced substantial heat amplification since 2016 .
They concluded that extreme sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic during 2023 “ lie at the fringe of the expected mean climate change for a global surface-air temperature warming level ( GWL )” of 1.5 degrees Celsius and closer to the average of 3.0 degrees Celsius GWL . If this scenario is attained globally , it would have catastrophic consequences , including the eventual collapse of ice caps . This would lead to an uncontrollable rising sea level that would consume low-lying cities and contaminate water sources with seawater worldwide .
Marine heat waves are also a factor in extreme weather events , as the energy of warm surface water leads to hurricane formation . In August 2023 , Hurricane Idalia , sitting over unusually warm surface water in the Gulf of Mexico , intensified quickly . It strengthened from 80 mph winds to a Category 3 storm , gaining 40 mph in less than 24 hours . The warm water was like rocket fuel for the approaching storm . The year 2024 did not see much relief from the heat .
In August 2024 , the Arctic Ocean ’ s mean sea surface temperatures — a critical measure of the intensity of the icealbedo feedback cycle during a summer sea-ice melt season — were between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius warmer than mean values in most Arctic Ocean marginal seas in August of any year between 1991 and 2020 , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . We have entered a new era of elevated marine temperatures , which is of great concern .
According to Mercator Ocean International , a nonprofit scientific research organization based in Toulouse , France , the monthly mean sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea reached 26.42 degrees Celsius in September 2024 , a record high that surpassed the previous records set in 2020 and 2022 . At a global level , September 2024 was the secondwarmest month on record ( after August 2023 ), with a sea surface monthly mean temperature of 20.87 degrees Celsius .
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