Warmest Waters Ever: Record-High Ocean Temperatures Observed in February 2024, Scientists Reveal

According to European Union scientists, the ocean temperatures reached a record-high level in the previous month. This makes February 2024 the warmest February on record.

Ocean Temperatures Hit Record-High Levels

In February, the average temperature of the global sea surface reached 21.06 °C, or 69.91 °F. These levels surpass earlier records of 20.98 °C or 69.77 °F in August 2023. This is based on a dataset that dates back to 1979 and is according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) of the EU.

At the same time, the average temperature of the air in February reached 13.54 °C, or 56.4 °F. This was a warmer temperature of 1.77 °C, or 3.18 °F, compared to the month's pre-industrial average. These levels also marked the ninth straight month, the record-warmest for the year's respective month.

Earlier, January also became the warmest first month of the year. Based on the records of the C3S, which go back to 1950, it surpassed the warmest January of 2020.

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Climate Change

Last February, scientists warned regarding the record's hottest January as the grave heat trend of the world, fuelled by climate change, kept on going. According to Samantha Burgess, the C3S Deputy Director, rapid greenhouse gas emission reductions are the only way to hamper increasing global temperatures.

According to C3S scientists, though the El Nino pattern became weaker in February in the equatorial Pacific, marine air temperatures stayed at unusually elevated levels.

This week, marine scientists warned that a fourth global mass coral bleaching incident could happen in the Southern Hemisphere. This could possibly be the worst one in the planet's history.

Under stressful conditions, corals end up bleaching. They expel the helpful and colorful algae that dwell inside their tissues and leave behind a pale skeleton. Because of this, they become vulnerable to disease and starvation. Several of them also end up dying. This could result in fragile reef ecosystem collapse as coastlines become unprotected against storms and erosion while fisheries fall short.

Alongside climate change caused by humans, El Nino also bolsters the added heat. Richard Allen, a climate scientist from the University of Reading, shares that it is surprising that record-high sea surface temperatures are observed in regions far from El Nino's center. Allen points out how rising atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions have a notably strong influence.

Though the global average temperatures of the sea surface do not cover polar oceans, things have not been going well in such areas as well. Sea ice in Antarctica reached its annual minimum extent back in February 2024. This was its third-lowest level on record (28% below average).

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