"More than 90% of the heat trapped by humanity's carbon pollution is taken up by the oceans. This makes ocean heat one of the starkest indicators of the relentless march of the climate crisis, which will only end when emissions fall to zero. Almost every year since the start of the millennium has set a new ocean heat record. This extra heat makes the hurricanes and typhoons hitting coastal communities more intense, causes heavier downpours of rain and greater flooding."
"Reliable ocean temperature measurements stretch back to the mid-20th century, but it is likely the oceans are at their hottest for at least 1,000 years and heating faster than at any time in the past 2,000 years. The atmosphere is a smaller store of heat and more affected by natural climate variations such as the El Nino-La Nina cycle. The average surface air temperature in 2025 is expected to approximately tie with 2023 as the second-hottest year since records began in 1850."
Oceans absorbed unprecedented heat in 2025, reaching new record levels and driving more extreme weather worldwide. More than 90% of the heat trapped by carbon emissions is taken up by the oceans, making ocean heat a primary indicator of ongoing global warming that will only stop when emissions reach zero. Increased ocean heat intensifies hurricanes and typhoons, increases heavy rainfall and flooding, prolongs marine heatwaves that devastate marine life, and contributes to sea level rise through thermal expansion, threatening billions. Reliable ocean temperature records extend to the mid-20th century, and paleoclimate evidence indicates oceans may be the warmest in at least a millennium.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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