The preliminary ocean temperature off the coast of South Florida reached triple digits, which could be a global record.
According to meteorologists, a buoy in Manatee Bay, Florida, reported a provisional high ocean temperature of 101,1 degrees on Monday afternoon.
Florida Water Temperature Hits Hot Tub Levels
Extremely high water temperatures in the ocean are extremely rare, but scientists have categorized the extremely significant marine heat wave in the region as unprecedented.
The temperature reported by adjacent buoys is not in the triple digits. According to meteorologists, these buoys are reading temperatures in the upper 90s.
ABC News reported that climate change is strongly connected to ocean temperatures. The United Nations climate change council states that it is "essentially certain" that the ocean has continued to warm since 1970 and has absorbed more than 90 percent of the climate system's excess heat.
NASA reports that the last 10 years were the warmest decade for the ocean since at least the 1800s. According to specialists, 2022 was the warmest year on record for the ocean and the year with the highest global sea level.
In addition to the preliminary reading in Florida that may be a global record, ocean temperature readings in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean are also shattering records this week.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that maritime heat wave conditions will persist in the North Atlantic through September and possibly through the end of the year.
The extreme readings add to previous warnings about Florida's warming waters in the southeastern United States, as other parts of the country continued to experience protracted weather. Per The Guardian, extreme heat has posed a hazard to marine life and ocean ecosystems along the coast of southern Florida.
Last week, Derek Manzello of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Monitor told CNN, "We did not anticipate this heating to occur so early in the year and to be so extreme. This appears to be a first for our records."
Ocean Heatwaves
Heatwaves are increasingly impacting the world's oceans, eradicating kelp, seagrass, and corals and wiping out vast swaths of marine life, similar to "wildfires that consume vast forest tracts."
According to research conducted in 2019, ocean heatwave days have quadrupled in recent years. A 2021 heat dome will likely destroy more than one billion marine animals along Canada's Pacific coastline.
The increasing frequency and severity of severe weather - both on land and in the oceans - is a symptom of the global, human-caused climate crisis that is fueling extremes, experts warn, with current heatwaves expected to continue through August.
Since May, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations reported that global sea temperatures have attained monthly record highs, in part due to an El Nino event. Noaa reports that global sea surface temperatures have broken monthly records for heat in April, May, and June.
While fileting fish brought into Key Largo on Tuesday, fishing boat captain Dustin Hansel remarked that catches have become "sluggish and slower" during the past five summers. Additionally, he has observed an increase in the number of deceased fish in the waters surrounding Key Largo.
The NOAA issued a warning earlier this month that the warmer water surrounding Florida could intensify tropical cyclones and hurricanes, which gain more energy over warmer waters. According to the agency, increasing temperatures also place coral reefs under severe duress.
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