EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Oceans

    Global Sea Surface Temperatures Reached New Record High in July

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: August 4, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Aerial view of beachgoers near the pier in Cocoa Beach, Florida
    Beachgoers near the pier in Cocoa Beach, Florida on July 29, 2023. Paul Hennesy / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    When you take a dip in the ocean, expecting it to provide a refreshing reprieve from the scorching summer temperatures and it feels like a hot tub, as it did recently in the Florida Keys, something is amiss.

    According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the average global sea surface temperature reached a new high of 69.728 degrees Fahrenheit in July, which could have a range of serious implications for our planet, reported The Guardian.

    Global ocean temperatures are usually warmest in March, so scientists say the record will likely keep increasing.

    More From EcoWatch
    • Sustainable Home Improvements You Can Make
    • Best Solar-Powered AC Units
    • How to Fix Underperforming Solar Panels

    “The level of warmth we are seeing today is only possible because of the warming over the past 150 years due to human activity,” said Dr. Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at nonprofit research institute Berkeley Earth, as The New York Times reported.

    With El Niño ramping up, extreme ocean temperatures are expected to continue into the autumn months, scientists say.

    “The fact that we’ve seen the record now makes me nervous about how much warmer the ocean may get between now and next March,” said Copernicus climate scientist Dr. Samantha Burgess, as reported by The Guardian.

    About 70 percent of Earth is ocean, and our watery surface has absorbed almost all — more than 90 percent — of the heat that has been generated by human activities like deforestation and the reckless burning of fossil fuels.

    “The more we burn fossil fuels, the more excess heat will be taken out by the oceans, which means the longer it will take to stabilise them and get them back to where they were,” Burgess told BBC News.

    Oceans not only absorb heat, but drive global weather patterns and act as the world’s biggest carbon sink.

    “The ocean generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 percent of the excess heat generated by these emissions. It is not just ‘the lungs of the planet’ but also its largest ‘carbon sink’ – a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change,” according to the United Nations.

    As the ocean warms, it is less able to absorb the carbon dioxide we produce, meaning there will be more left over in the atmosphere, The Guardian reported.

    Warming oceans also means the expansion of sea water and melting glaciers and ice sheets, all of which contribute to dangerous sea level rise, NASA said.

    A combination of ships’ measurements of sea surface temperature going from the last 150-plus years and buoy and satellite measurements from the past four decades have shown that the average sea surface temperature has risen by nearly 0.9 degrees Celsius over the entire period and by approximately 0.6 degrees Celsius over the past 40 years, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said. The most recent five-year average has been about 0.2 degrees Celsius higher than the mean temperature between 1991 and 2020.

    The Arctic Ocean, “extra-tropical Pacific,” the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea are some of the most rapidly warming ocean regions of the planet, reported The Guardian.

    “In many ways,” the ocean is “the most accurate thermometer we have for the actual effect of climate change, because it’s where most of the heat ends up,” Hausfather said, as The New York Times reported.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Just 12% of People in the U.S. Consume Over 50% of the Country's Beef, Study Finds
      A new study has found that only about 12% of
      By Paige Bennett
      Sequencing Project Helps Conservation Efforts for Critically Endangered Kākāpō
      Scientists are managing the critically endangered kākāpō population in New
      By Paige Bennett
      'We Have to Act Fast': 2 Degrees of Warming Could Cause 1 Billion Deaths Over Next Century
      A new study by Joshua Pearce of London’s Western University
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Just 12% of People in the U.S. Consume Over 50% of the Country’s Beef, Study Finds
          by Paige Bennett
          September 1, 2023
        • Sequencing Project Helps Conservation Efforts for Critically Endangered Kākāpō
          by Paige Bennett
          August 30, 2023
        • Category 3 Idalia Strongest Hurricane to Hit Big Bend, Florida on Record
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          August 30, 2023
        • ‘We Have to Act Fast’: 2 Degrees of Warming Could Cause 1 Billion Deaths Over Next Century
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          August 30, 2023
        • London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone Expands to Entire City
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          August 29, 2023
        • Plant-Based Shrimp and Calamari Coming to UK Grocery Stores
          by Paige Bennett
          August 29, 2023
        • Oil Spills 101: Everything You Need to Know
          by Linnea Harris
          August 29, 2023
        • Small Urban Greening Projects Can Greatly Increase Insect Species Numbers in Cities
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          August 28, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2023 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.