24 scientists from 16 research institutes around the world participated in the study. The study authors from the US, China, Italy and New Zealand emphasized that the oceans absorb about 90 percent of the excess heat from humans’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
Man-made climate change is increasing sea surface temperatures, which destabilizes the weather and causes an increase in storms and other extreme weather events. In the sea itself, continued heat waves are already having devastating effects on the flora and fauna there.
As the study authors explain, heat in the world’s oceans last year exceeded the average value of previous years by about ten zettajoules. That’s 100 times the world’s electricity production in 2021. Records dating back to the late 1950s show a steady rise in ocean temperatures. Since about 1985, the increase has become particularly pronounced.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that rising temperatures are upsetting the balance of the oceans faster than first thought. Climate change is also causing the seas to become more and more saline. Both factors contribute to stratification in the oceans. Between these layers, water no longer mixes, which prevents the exchange of heat, oxygen and carbon dioxide.
As a result, the sea is losing oxygen as a result, according to the study. The researchers involved explained that this loss of oxygen is “a nightmare not only for life and ecosystems in the sea, but also for humans and our terrestrial ecosystems.”
On Tuesday, the European earth observation program Copernicus presented its annual report, stating that 2022 was the warmest year for a quarter of humanity since records began. 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 extreme weather events such as droughts, storms and floods are a worldwide concern.
(SDA)