The world’s oceans are off-the-charts warm — and the worst could be yet to come

 

The world’s oceans are off-the-charts warm — and the worst could be yet to come

This month, parts of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico were more than 5 degrees F warmer than normal. In recent days, a patch of the North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada — a region normally kept relatively cool by the Labrador Current — was an astounding 9 degrees F warmer than usual, according to Frédéric Cyr,

 A research scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a department of the Canadian government that oversees marine science and policy and manages the country’s fisheries.

Scientists pay close attention to marine heat waves because the world’s oceans are crucial for the planet's ability to store heat. Studies have found that Earth’s oceans have absorbed about 90% of the heat trapped on the planet from greenhouse gas emissions since 1970.