In hot water: strong marine heatwaves in a record breaking summer
An extreme summer has propelled 2023 toward becoming the hottest year on record. The combination of El Niño and climate change has amplified temperatures, while strong marine heatwaves and ecosystem impacts underline the urgent need for understanding and adaptation.
2023 is now likely to be considered the hottest year on record, after an extreme summer of unprecedented high temperatures that led to widespread heatwaves, wildfires, and heavy rainfall, affecting various regions all over the world.
During the first half of 2023, a developing El Niño event combined with human-caused climate change has led to a surge in global temperatures, breaking numerous records.
As reported by Carbon Brief, June and July 2023 likely exceeded previous records by approximately 0.2°C and 0.3°C, respectively. Moreover, global temperatures have risen by about 1°C since 1970 and by 1.1°C to 1.3°C since the mid-1800s.
In addition to global surface temperatures, the oceans have been unusually warm in the past few months, with sea surface temperatures maintaining record levels since mid-March.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the peak of temperature anomalies was reached in July, when global average sea surface temperatures were 0.51°C above the 1991–2020 average. Notably, the most evident anomaly in July 2023 was registered in the North Atlantic with temperatures 1.05°C above average.
Marine heatwaves (MHWs) originated in various regions of the planet, from Greenland and the Labrador Sea, to the Caribbean basin and across the Mediterranean Sea.
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