Global ocean breaks records with 100 days of heat as El Niño adds new threat

The global ocean outside polar regions logged 100 consecutive days of record-high average sea surface temperatures between June 2 and Sept. 10, according to Climate Reanalyzer data from the University of Maine, with readings topping every prior year back to 1982. Temperatures peaked around Aug. 22-27, hitting roughly 21.18°C, per the platform, which draws on NOAA data.

Climate scientists attribute the trend to human-driven warming, noting that over 90% of excess heat from burning fossil fuels ends up in the ocean, with a strengthening El Niño adding further heat on top of that baseline. Researchers say the warming reaches beyond the surface layer into deeper waters, disrupting marine food chains, fisheries, tourism economies, and hurricane behavior.

Coastal heat waves in Europe this summer were reportedly intensified by these elevated sea temperatures, according to a researcher at Ireland's ICARUS Climate Research Centre, who also linked ocean heat to rising wet-bulb temperatures that impair the body's ability to cool itself. A U.N. Environment Programme report cited in the briefing projects the planet will likely exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C threshold within a few years.

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