Copernicus report

Ocean warming: pace has doubled since 2005

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According to the EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program, the rate of warming of the world's oceans has almost doubled since 2005. Over the past two decades, the warming of the sea surface has increased from a long-term rate of 0.58 to 1.05 watts per square meter.

According to the EU's Copernicus Earth Observation Program, the rate of ocean warming has almost doubled since 2005. Over the past two decades, the warming of the sea surface has increased from a long-term rate of 0.58 to 1.05 watts per square meter.

This is according to the Copernicus report on the state of the oceans published on Monday. The EU Earth Observation Program also reported record water temperatures and marine heatwaves that reached into the deep sea.

"The warming of the oceans can be seen as our indicator for global warming," said oceanographer Karina von Schuckmann. According to her, the oceans have been warming "continuously" since the 1960s, but the pace of this warming has increased rapidly since 2005.

Unprecedented loss of sea ice
The Copernicus report also describes an unprecedented loss of sea ice and an increase in the heat stored in the ocean. In 2023, more than 20 percent of the world's ocean surfaces experienced a severe or extreme heat wave. These heatwaves also lasted longer than in the past. The average maximum duration of marine heatwaves has doubled from 20 days to 40 days since 2008, according to the report.

In the north-eastern Barents Sea, the seabed appears to have "entered the state of a permanent marine heatwave", said von Schuckmann. In August 2022, a record temperature of 29.2 degrees Celsius was measured in the coastal waters of the Balearic Islands - the highest regional surface water temperature in forty years. In the same year, a marine heatwave in the Mediterranean penetrated around 1,500 meters below the surface.

Heatwaves affect ecosystems
Marine heatwaves affect ecosystems and disrupt the delicate balance of nutrients in the ocean. They could also have an impact on fishing, emphasized von Schuckmann. Warmer waters also lead to more severe storms and other extreme weather events.

Oceans are important climate regulators
The world's oceans, which cover around 70 percent of the Earth's surface, are an important climate regulator and act as a carbon sink by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.