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We've reached the 'boiling seas' part of the #ClimateCrisis
Opinion by Hayes Brown, July 31, 2023
"July was the hottest month ever in recorded history, and we’re likewise seeing oceanic temperatures hit worrying highs around the world. Off the coast of #Florida, the water has hit 100ºF multiple times in last week, a temperature more suitable to hot tubs than the open sea. The unavoidable truth is that our oceans are warming faster than predicted, and it is beginning to feel like the hackneyed 'frog in a slowly boiling pot' analogy for climate change is more apt than ever.
"Things seem even more dire when you look at the other side of the #Atlantic. The #Mediterranean sea, already in the midst of its hottest July ever, last Monday broke the record for the hottest the sea has ever been, hitting 83.6º F. As Scottish meteorologist Scott Duncan noted, usually the maximum temperature in the area is in August, so the record could still be broken again.
"Meanwhile, the temperatures we’re seeing off Florida are a problem beyond the utter weirdness of the ocean feeling no more refreshing than standing in the sun. The rising heat is causing havoc on the ocean’s wildlife. Scientists on the Florida Keys are racing to save coral specimens taken from the third-largest coral reef on the planet and the only living barrier reef in the continental U.S. With the hottest part of summer likely still ahead, it’s not clear if the reef can handle that much sustained heat.
"And more broadly, warm waters are less able to hold onto dissolved oxygen, meaning that the more the sea temperature rises, the greater the chance we begin to see mass die-offs of fish and other sea creatures literally drowning. We’re already seeing the kelp forests that form the base of temperate coastal ecosystems dying off thanks to the temperature increases. And hotter waters in the Arctic and Antarctic will affect the ice melt rate and how much the sea level rises over the next decades."