A new temperature record was set in the oceans in 2022, according to the study.

The world’s oceans, which absorb most of the heat caused by climate change, set new heat records last year, according to a study published Wednesday.

“Oceans continue to warm around the world,” explain the authors of this international report, published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

“The inexorable rise in ocean temperatures is the inevitable result of the energy imbalance on Earth, mainly due to the growing concentration of greenhouse gases,” explain the 24 authors of the report from American, Chinese and Italian universities.

Risk to marine life and the water cycle

oceans they absorb more than 90% of excess heat caused by greenhouse gases generated by human activities.

“The global warming trend is so regular and steady that records are broken every year,” warn these experts from 16 research centers.

The total heat contained in oceans between the surface and a depth of 2000 meters increased last year by 10 zettajoules, that is, by 1 joule (a basic measure of heat), followed by 22 zeros.

This figure is about 100 times the world’s electricity production in 2022.

The warming of ocean waters leads to an increase in their salinity and stratification (stratification into different layers).

This means that the acidity of the waters increases, and at the same time they are not as easy to mix.

Both phenomena can change the exchange of heat, carbon and oxygen between oceans and the atmosphere, which in turn has implications for marine life and the water cycle.

“Global warming continues and is manifested in record levels of heat in the oceans, as well as extreme levels of salinity,” said Lijing Cheng, lead author of the study.

“This last point confirms that salty areas are becoming more dangerous,” he added.

ecological nightmare

” oceans they absorb almost all of the heat caused by human CO2 emissions,” recalls Michael Mann, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of the study.

“This warming will continue until we reach carbon neutrality, so we will continue to break records,” he predicted.

“Better knowledge of the oceans is the basis of action to combat change climate”, he added.

The warming phenomenon began to be discovered in the late 1950s.

As the water heats up, oxygen levels drop, which is “a nightmare not only for aquatic life and ecosystems, but also for humans and our terrestrial ecosystems,” the researchers say.

Studying the European Program for change climate Copernicus reported on Tuesday that the past eight years have been the warmest to date.

During the period 2015-2022, each year there was an increase in the average temperature of more than one degree Celsius compared to the average pre-industrial level.

And another report released by the insurance company Munich Re indicated that natural disasters caused $270 billion worth of damage in 2022, which, despite everything, is less than in 2021.

(According to AFP)

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