Just as scientists predicted, this year’s “super” El Niño, a natural global weather pattern, is shattering all kinds of records as it combines with human-caused climate change.
July already proved to be the hottest month on record in the US, with the country experiencing average temperatures exceeding those during the July 1936 Dust Bowl, an environmental and agricultural disaster.
Ocean surface temperatures are also steadily creeping up, hitting 70 degrees Fahrenheit this month, the hottest point since records began. That’s despite ocean heat records usually being set in March and April, following the austral summer.
In fact, as University of Ottawa environmental studies professor Ryan Katz-Rosene pointed out in a tweet over the weekend, this new record may be a new high “for the entire Holocene period, and possibly even as far back as the last Interglacial 125,000 years ago.”
“Should be major news!” he argued.
The record temperatures were observed by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). They signal that more extreme weather events could be in store for us before the end of the year, including intense rainfall and storms.
A hotter ocean also means it’s far less able to absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect.
“The record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress,” C4S researcher Samantha Burgess told The Guardian. “El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming.”
“The consequences are already visible: the number of marine heatwave days globally has more than tripled since the early 1990s,” she added.
It’s an alarming situation. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, around 42 percent of global oceans are covered in marine heat waves, approaching a record proportion of 46 percent set in 2024.
What to do about the alarming trend is as clear as it has been for many years.
“Two key actions are needed to address this record ocean warming,” Campaign for Nature director Brian O’Donnell told The Guardian. “Fossil fuel emissions need to be rapidly reduced. Meanwhile, it is essential that countries protect marine and coastal ecosystems.”
More on rising ocean temperatures: Scientists Horrified by Record-Breaking Ocean Temperatures
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