Ocean warming: the rate has nearly doubled since 2005

The rate of ocean warming has nearly doubled since 2005, and more than a fifth of the world's ocean surface will experience a severe heat wave in 2023, according to a report by the European Copernicus Observatory published on Monday. “Ocean warming can be seen as our global warming watchdog. It has been steadily increasing since the 1960s, and since about 2005 the rate of ocean warming has doubled," emphasized oceanographer Karina Von Schuckmann during a video conference presenting the 8th Copernicus State of the Oceans Report.

The oceans have warmed by 1.05 watts per square meter since 2005, compared with 0.58 watts per square meter in previous decades, according to the report. This work consolidates the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2019, these UN-commissioned climate experts considered it "likely" that the rate of ocean warming had "more than doubled since 1993". (More on leseco.ma)