Global oceans were warmer last month than any other May in records dating back to the 19th century, the EU’s climate monitoring unit reported on Wednesday.
Sea temperatures at a depth of about 10m were one-quarter of a degree Celsius higher than ice-free oceans in May averaged from 1991 to 2020, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.
Annual long-term trends have added 0.6°C to the ocean’s surface waters in 40 years, C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess said, adding that April had also posted a new record for heat.
Photo: EPA
Temperatures over the ocean could increase in coming months, “as we are seeing the El Nino signal continuing to emerge in the equatorial Pacific,” she said in a statement, referring to a periodic, natural shift in ocean winds that increases warming globally.
Above water and over land, the Earth’s surface temperature last month tied as the second-hottest for May, C3S said.
The Copernicus findings are based on computer-generated models that draw on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations worldwide.
Oceans, which cover 70 percent of Earth’s surface, have kept the planet liveable as global warming caused by human activity — mainly the burning of fossil fuels — has accelerated.
The surface of the planet is about 1.2°C hotter that preindustrial levels, which has already unleashed devastating effects on the climate.
Oceans absorb one-quarter of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, and 90 percent of the excess heat generated by climate change, but at a terrible price.
Widespread marine heat waves are decimating coral reefs and the ecosystems that depend on them, including more than half a billion people.
The accelerated disintegration from below of giant ice sheets could lift oceans by 12m, and ocean acidification is disrupting life cycles and food chains from the tropics to the poles.
Oceans, along with forests and soil, which soak up an even larger percentage of human-generated carbon dioxide — are showing signs of battle fatigue, and their capacity to soak up the gas could diminish.
Copernicus reported that temperatures in several parts of the world were higher than normal, including in Canada, where wildfires over the past several weeks have decimated more than 3 million hectares.
There are 413 wildfires burning across the country from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, including 249 deemed “out of control.”
Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization said that there is a 60 percent chance that an El Nino could form before the end of next month, and an 80 percent chance by the end of November.
Most of the warmest years on record have occurred during El Ninos, and scientists are concerned that summer this year and next year could bring record temperatures on land and in the sea.
In Antarctica, sea ice reached a monthly record low for the third time this year, with satellite data showing it was 17 percent below average in May.
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