New study shows
Climate change leads to temperature record in world oceans
The oceans were warmer than ever in 2022. This is shown by a new study published by an international team of researchers on Wednesday in the journal “Advances in Atmospheric Sciences”. Due to global warming, new temperature records are to be expected.
The oceans were warmer than ever in 2022. (archive image)
24 scientists from 16 research institutes worldwide were involved in the study. The study authors from the USA, China, Italy and New Zealand emphasized that the oceans absorb around 90 percent of the excess heat caused by humans emitting greenhouse gases.
Man-made climate change is increasing sea surface temperatures, which in turn destabilizes the weather and leads to an increase in storms and other extreme weather events. In the sea itself, the ongoing heat waves are already having devastating effects on the flora and fauna there.
Last year, the heat in the world’s oceans exceeded the average value of previous years by around ten zettajoules, the study authors describe. That’s 100 times the world’s electricity generation in 2021. Records going back to the late 1950s show a steady rise in ocean temperatures. Since about 1985 the increase has been particularly marked.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that rising temperatures are unbalancing the oceans faster than first thought. Climate change is also causing the seas to become increasingly salinated. Both factors contribute to stratification in the oceans. Between these layers, the water no longer mixes, which in turn impedes the exchange of heat, oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The bottom line is that the sea is losing oxygen as a result, according to the study. This loss of oxygen is “a nightmare not only for life and ecosystems in the sea, but also for people and our ecosystems on land,” explained the researchers involved.
On Tuesday, the European earth observation program Copernicus presented its annual report, according to which 2022 was the warmest year since records began for a quarter of humanity. New highs were measured in Western Europe, China and the Middle East, among others. The effects of climate change in the form of more frequent and intense weather extremes such as droughts, storms and floods are a concern around the world.
(SDA)