New Delhi, Jan 29: The rate at which oceans are warming has accelerated nearly fourfold over the past four decades, posing a severe threat to global climate stability, a new study has found.
Published in Environmental Research Letters, the study revealed that global ocean temperatures have been rising at 0.27 degrees Celsius per decade between 2019 and 2023, compared to 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade in the late 1980s.
“If the oceans were a bathtub, then in the 1980s, the hot tap was running slowly, warming the water by just a fraction of a degree each decade,” said lead author Chris Merchant from the University of Reading, UK. “But now, the hot tap is running much faster, and the warming has picked up speed. The way to slow this down is by cutting global carbon emissions and moving towards net-zero.”
The study attributes the accelerated warming to a growing energy imbalance—where the Earth is absorbing more energy from the Sun than it is radiating back into space. This imbalance has nearly doubled since 2010, driven by rising greenhouse gas levels and a reduction in Earth’s reflectivity.
The researchers found that 44% of the record-breaking heat in 2023 and early 2024 can be directly traced to the oceans’ rapid warming. Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for 450 consecutive days during this period. While the natural El Niño phenomenon contributed to the heat spike, the study found that ocean surface warming over the past decade has been significantly faster than in previous decades.
Alarmingly, the researchers warn that the temperature rise seen over the past 40 years could be surpassed in just the next 20 years if emissions continue unchecked. They stress the urgent need to curb fossil fuel use to prevent even more extreme warming and stabilize the climate.
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