Getting Into Hot Water

Ninety percent of excess solar heat is absorbed by the planet's oceans. A study, published in the Journal of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, shows an inexorable climb in ocean temperatures since 1958 (the date when systematic readings were started), with a sudden acceleration after 1990 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/11/oceans-were-the-hottest-ever-recorded-in-2022-analysis-shows). It seems likely that our oceans are now at their hottest in 1000 years. Scarily, heating is actually occurring faster than at any time in the last 2000. In deed, the world's oceans were at their hottest ever recorded by the chain of monitors in 2022. It's estimated that our oceans stored 10 zettajoules more heat in 2022, than they did in 2021. Sea surface temperatures have, of course, profound effects on the weather. The outlook is distinctly stormy.