Washington, United States (Enmaeya News) — Oceans are heating at unprecedented levels, with record-long marine heatwaves disrupting ecosystems and threatening global fisheries, scientists warn.

A study published in Science, titled “The 2023 Record Marine Heatwaves”, shows that soaring ocean temperatures have destroyed coral reefs, disrupted marine food chains, and threatened fisheries worldwide.

Vast regions of the North Atlantic, the tropical and North Pacific, and the southwestern Pacific endured the harshest conditions. In the North Atlantic, a heatwave that began in mid-2022 persisted for 525 days, while the southwestern Pacific saw the largest and longest heat events ever documented. In the eastern tropical Pacific, waters rose by 1.63°C during the early stages of El Niño.

Researchers attribute the extreme events to multiple regional factors, including increased sunlight due to fewer clouds, weakened winds, unusual shifts in ocean currents, and heat buildup in upper ocean layers. These events highlight how local conditions interact with broader climate changes to drive extreme ocean warming.

Marine heatwaves pose serious threats to ecosystems and human livelihoods. They trigger widespread coral bleaching, mass die-offs, and disruptions to fisheries and aquaculture. Experts say human-driven climate change has sharply increased the frequency and intensity of such events.

Oceans are essential to life on Earth, producing 50% of the planet’s oxygen, absorbing 25% of carbon dioxide emissions, and capturing 90% of heat from greenhouse gases. Rising ocean temperatures threaten all these critical functions, weakening the ocean’s role as a buffer against climate change.

Scientists warn that the record-breaking heatwaves of 2023 may be an early warning of a climate tipping point, emphasizing the urgent need to understand and address the accelerating changes in the world’s oceans.