Ocean Warming Accelerates Fourfold Since 1980s, Study Reveals Urgent Climate Threat

A recent study published in Environmental Research Letters has found that the rate of ocean surface warming has increased more than four times since the 1980s. Researchers discovered that while ocean temperatures rose at a rate of approximately 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade during the late 1980s, that figure has surged to 0.27 degrees Celsius per decade in recent years.

Lead author Professor Chris Merchant from the University of Reading, UK, likened the situation to a bathtub: “In the 1980s, the hot tap was running slowly, warming up the water by just a fraction of a degree each decade. But now, the hot tap is running much faster,” he explained.

The study highlights that recent unprecedented high sea temperatures in 2023 and early 2024, which have persisted for over 450 days, can be attributed to this accelerating warming, as well as natural phenomena like El Niño. About 44 percent of the current record warmth is due to the oceans absorbing heat at an increased rate.

The researchers caution that the trend observed over the past 40 years could be surpassed in the next two decades if global carbon emissions are not significantly reduced. The findings emphasize the urgency to decrease fossil fuel consumption in order to stabilize the climate and mitigate the impact of rising ocean temperatures, which can lead to increased disease in marine species and potential health risks for humans.