What to Know About Record-Breaking Ocean Temperatures

The ocean has set temperature records every day for over a year now, and 2024 shows no signs of slowing down this trend.

In March 2024, the global sea surface temperature reached a new monthly high of 21.07 degrees Celsius, or 69.93 degrees Fahrenheit. Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, highlighted that this finding “continues the sequence of climate records toppling for both air temperature and ocean surface temperatures.”

While climate change has been steadily raising global temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions, the recent temperature records surpass what would be expected, even considering climate change alone.

The Atlantic Ocean is showing signs of a stronger hurricane season and the onset of an El Niño event in July has influenced global temperatures, as El Niño events are associated with elevated temperatures. However, the weakening of El Niño in the near future will provide valuable insights into 2023's temperatures.

Beyond climate change and El Niño, other factors might be contributing to these temperature records. Reductions in aerosol pollution from international fuel standards implemented in 2020, along with the massive eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano in 2022, are potential contributors.

However, when scientists attempt to account for these factors, there's still a discrepancy in explaining the observed temperature anomalies. This indicates that there might be additional influences at play, such as unforeseen improvements in aerosol pollution or Earth's climate exhibiting more internal variability than previously understood.

Several research teams are actively investigating these phenomena, with findings expected to emerge in the coming months.