In 2021, Our Oceans Were The Hottest On Record - Millions Suffered The Consequences

Oceans are one of the best and most direct indicators of climate change - and their message is alarming. Oceans soak up more than 90% of earth’s excess heat created by GHG emissions. Since the 1980s, they’ve relentlessly warmed at a rate eight times faster than prior decades - an increase directly linked to rising emissions.?

Last year, the upper 2,000 meters of ocean waters absorbed 14 more zetajoules of excess heat than in 2020?- that’s more than 145 times the world’s total electricity generation (which is c 0.5 zetajoules).

Thanks to over 60 years of good data and the work of 23 scientists who recently conducted this study*, we have even stronger and clearer evidence of our planet’s situation.

Oceans are a major driver of weather patterns on the coast and inland. The 2021-record ocean heat showed up in several weather extremes affecting millions of people in the United States and worldwide. There were intense storms including Hurricane Ida, costing US $75 billion in damage.?Every 1.8 degrees of warming intensifies heavy rain events by about 7 percent; 2021 was one of the wettest years on record for U.S. East coast. The two unusual December 2021 tornado events in the southern and central United States can be traced to warmer Gulf waters that made conditions more spring-like. Warmer waters are also creating more frequent marine heatwaves, affecting ocean habitats like coral reefs and fisheries.?These hotter temperatures are eating away at polar glaciers.?

Until humans can curtail GHG and approach zero emissions, we can expect this trend and its consequences for ourselves and our communities to accelerate.?2022 needs to be the year we take action for our oceans.

#climatechange #oceans #coralreefs #fisheries #oceanwarming #glaciers #resilience #sustainability?

*Cheng, L., Abraham, J., Trenberth, K.E.?et al.?Another Record: Ocean Warming Continues through 2021 despite La Ni?a Conditions.?Adv. Atmos. Sci.?(2022). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00376-022-1461-3?