As Temperatures Climb, the Ocean Takes the Brunt

From scorching temperatures in South Africa to unprecedented heat waves in Europe, extreme heat is breaking records and transforming people’s lives across the world. While we feel this heat most immediately in our home and workplaces, the reality is that most of it actually ends up in the ocean.

The ocean absorbs about 91% of the excess heat trapped by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. This growing “energy imbalance” explains why ocean temperatures keep breaking records and why sea levels keep climbing. Those same greenhouse gas emissions are also changing the chemistry of seawater.

The effects of these changes are increasingly being felt on land. But for those working in the ocean space, climate change is already here. The ocean is our clearest indicator of climate change — and the effects of these changes are sobering.