The European Copernicus Climate Change Service has reported that world oceans are now at their highest recorded temperatures. The agency said the milestone comes as the El Niño climate pattern strengthens, a development that can redistribute heat in the Pacific and raise global ocean and air temperatures.
El Niño is a recurring natural climate phenomenon in the tropical Pacific that typically amplifies global temperature variations. Scientists monitoring the ocean say the current warming trend is occurring on top of long-term increases in ocean heat driven by human-induced climate change, making impacts more pronounced than in previous El Niño events.
Dr Samantha Burgess of the Copernicus service said the record "is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress." The agency and other researchers warn that sustained high ocean temperatures increase the likelihood of marine heatwaves, harm to coral reefs, disruptions to fisheries and broader ecological shifts.
Higher ocean temperatures also affect the atmosphere, contributing to changes in weather patterns, such as altered rainfall and storm behaviour, and can complicate seasonal forecasts for regions worldwide. Scientists emphasise that continued monitoring is needed to track how the warming ocean will influence ecosystems and human communities that depend on them.
Copernicus and other climate agencies will continue to observe ocean conditions as El Niño evolves, providing data to help governments, coastal managers and industry plan for and respond to short-term extremes and longer-term ocean warming.