<
https://theconversation.com/in-hot-water-heres-why-ocean-temperatures-are-the-hottest-on-record-204534>
"Large swathes of the world’s oceans are warm. Unusually warm. The heat this
year is likely to break records. Since mid-March, the global average sea
surface temperature is over 21℃ – the highest since satellite records began.
What’s going on? Climate change is the big picture – nine-tenths of all heat
trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the oceans. But there’s an immediate
cause too: the rare triple-dip La Niña is over. During this cycle, cooler water
from deep in the ocean upwells to the surface. It’s like the Pacific Ocean’s
air conditioner is running. But now the air conditioner is turned off. It’s
likely we’re set for an El Niño, which tends to bring hotter, dryer weather to
Australia.
When you run your air conditioner, you’re masking the heat outside. It’s the
same for our oceans. La Niña brought three years of cooler conditions, while
global warming continued apace.
Now we’re likely to see the heat roar back. If El Niño develops, climatologists
estimate it could add an extra 0.2℃ to global temperatures, which would nudge
some areas past 1.5℃ of warming for the first time."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
