2023-07-20 20:50:05
Extensive bleaching of a coral reef in Key Biscayne, (Florida). NOAA / NOAA
The record number of sea heat waves recorded since the beginning of the year is linked to natural variations amplified by global warming. The heat is likely to be amplified in the coming months by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon.
On the graph that scientists follow day after day, the surface temperature curve of the oceans is escaping ever higher. At sea, 2023 is also breaking records. According US Oceanic and Atmospheric Studies Administration (NOAA), 44% of the world’s ocean surface (outside the poles) is currently experiencing a marine heat wave, which is a record since monitoring began in 1991. Locally, certain regions are subject to spectacular heat waves: + 5°C on the coast of Ecuador and Peru, + 3°C off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, up to + 4°C in the Mediterranean… The phenomenon started in April, first surprising scientists; today they say they are perplexed and worried.
« These anomalies concern millions of square kilometersanalyzes Thibault Guinaldo, researcher at the National Center for Meteorological Research (Météo-France/CNRS). Gold warm up, even if it’s only 1 °C, such a mass of water requires…
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#surface #seas #oceans #overheating