The world’s oceans are getting warmer.
The surface water temperature in May has not been this high since the measurements began, new figures show.
The temperatures are not seen as surprising – but mean dire consequences for aquatic organisms.
Every month, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) measures the temperature in the ice-free parts of the world’s oceans, commissioned by the European Commission.
Copernicus is tasked with reporting on global temperature changes using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world.
May 2023 marked the second warmest May on record globally and sea surface temperature and marine air temperature were the highest averages recorded for May across all ice-free seas, the latest report shows.
– We see the El Niño effect continuing to emerge in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, comments Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S, in a press release.
This is how the organisms are affected
The increasingly warmer oceans have consequences for all marine organisms.
– Especially when there are heat waves. A few days with really high temperatures is enough and it’s bad for many species, not just corals, says Agnes Karlsson, researcher in marine ecotoxicology at Stockholm University.
– In tidal areas, when there have been a few warm days, mussels die in droves, she continues.
Agnes Karlsson is not surprised by the new figures.
– This is exactly what we researchers expect. That it will get warmer is in line with the climate forecasts, she says.