MapLab: Tracking Marine Heatwaves
A NOAA map shows marine heatwaves from June to July 2023 and how much warmer sea surface temperatures are compared to average.
Credit: NOAA
The heat waves shattering temperature records all over the world this summer aren’t limited to land. Oceans are currently warmer than they’ve ever been since data started being collected, with about 44% of global oceans currently experiencing extreme temperatures, according to data gathered by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“It’s the highest average ocean temperature we’ve witnessed in about 40 years,” said Annalisa Bracco, professor and associate chair at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech.