<
https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-oceans-are-the-hottest-on-record-for-june-and-el-nino-is-set-to-turn-up-the-heat-even-more-286561>
"The world’s oceans are the hottest on record for June, pushing past records
set during the 2023–24 El Niño years.
Right now, the average sea surface temperature is just under 21°C across the
world’s tropical and temperate oceans. Before widespread industrialisation in
1870, the temperature was about 19.6°C.
That may not sound like a big difference. But heating the world’s oceans this
much requires a truly enormous amount of energy. Of all the extra heat trapped
by greenhouse gases from burning coal, gas and oil, more than 90% has gone into
the world’s oceans.
As a result, the oceans are getting rapidly warmer. In 2025, the heat added was
the equivalent of about 12 Hiroshima-scale nuclear bombs exploding every second
of every day.
To find a climate analogue comparable to what’s happening now in the oceans, we
would have to go back around 120,000 years to before the last ice age. Back
then, slow shifts in Earth’s orbit led it to heat up gradually over thousands
of years. Humans have accomplished a similar result in a little over a century.
But the heat in the ocean doesn’t just stay there. Hotter oceans fuel stronger
cyclones, a more humid atmosphere, more intense rainfall and more heat in air
masses over the seas, which can in turn make heatwaves over land more likely
and more intense.
The El Niño forming in the tropical Pacific right now is likely to be a big
one. As it develops, we can expect to see warmer temperatures and extreme
events such as marine heatwaves in the western Indian, tropical Atlantic and
eastern Pacific Oceans."
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
