This week, the oceans set a new world temperature record, with their surface reaching 20.96°C, according to data from Europe’s Copernicus observatory reported on Friday, August 4. The ERA5 database has confirmed that the surface temperature of the oceans reached this level on July 30, 2023, surpassing the previous record of 20.95°C in March 2016. These data concern the oceans between the 60th parallels north and south , thus excluding the polar regions.
The oceans absorb 90% of the excess heat from the Earth system caused by human activity during the industrial era and this energy accumulation continues to increase as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere. Piers Forster, from the University of Leeds in the UK, called the Copernicus data “very robust” and points out that it is confirmed by satellite observations and temperature readings directly at sea from ships and buoys meteorological.
“The ocean heat wave poses an immediate threat to some marine life, we are already seeing signs of coral bleaching in Florida as a direct result and I expect further negative consequences,” said this professor specializing in climate change.
Last week, North Atlantic waters had already reached an average temperature never before measured, with a record average surface water temperature of 24.9°C observed on July 26, according to data. from the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA). The North Atlantic generally peaks in temperature in September. Since March, which is the month in which the North Atlantic begins to warm after winter, the temperature curve has been moving well above that of previous years, with a gap having widened further in recent weeks. The North Atlantic has thus become an emblematic observation point for the overheating of the planet’s oceans, under the effect of global warming caused by greenhouse gases.
A few days earlier, the Mediterranean Sea had broken its daily heat record, with a median temperature of 28.71°C, according to the main Spanish maritime research center.
