New report warns of record ocean warming and rising seas

According to a report by more than 100 international scientists, the world’s oceans are undergoing major changes that could have consequences for which the world is unprepared, with far-reaching effects on marine ecosystems and the planet.

The tenth Copernicus Ocean State Report published today analyses more than 40 years of data from satellites, buoys and sensors to take the pulse of the world’s oceans delivering the starkest warning about the radical transformations they are enduring.

The report underlines that global oceans absorb roughly 90% of the global heating produced by humans burning fossil fuels and they are warming at an alarming pace.

The rate of ocean warming has doubled over the past 20 years and sea surface to put that into context it is equivalent to the energy of bombs 12 Hiroshima bombs going off every second for a year. The heat has compounded climate impacts, fueling stronger and more destructive storms, damaging marine life and increasing sea level rise.

In this connection, von Schuckmann said: “For island states, ocean change is not a distant environmental issue; it is an immediate economic, development and security challenge — and a warning of what many other coastlines will face in the future.”

Ocean acidification is sometimes called the climate change’s equally evil twin due to the damage it inflicts on underwater ecosystems including making it hard for animals such as lobsters and corals to build and maintain shells and skeletons.

On the other side of the globe, record low Antarctica sea ice in 2022 coincided with the fact that climate change is shaping the habitat of ice-dependent species. Nevertheless, the report calls for continuous ocean observation to ensure that governments and communities have the information they need to get ready for the future.