Global oceans report delivers ‘starkest warning yet’

Key Points:

• The tenth Copernicus Ocean State Report, based on over 40 years of data, warns that the world's oceans are warming at an alarming pace, with sea surface temperatures reaching record highs in 2023, 2024, and 2026, driven by human-induced heat absorption and a strong El Niño event.
• Ocean warming has doubled in rate over the past 20 years, causing marine heat waves, stronger storms, ecosystem damage, and accelerating sea level rise, which has increased by nearly 4 inches since 1999, threatening hundreds of millions living in coastal areas.
• Ocean acidification has increased by about 17% since 1985 due to carbon pollution, severely impacting marine life such as corals, oysters, and lobsters, while regions like the Mediterranean and Black Seas face intense heatwaves that disrupt marine ecosystems.
• The Arctic and Antarctic are experiencing dramatic changes, including rapid sea ice loss and habitat disruption for species like Emperor penguins, highlighting the severe regional impacts of ocean warming.
• Small island developing states are particularly vulnerable to the immediate economic, development, and security challenges posed by ocean changes, prompting calls for enhanced, sustained ocean monitoring to better prepare governments and communities for ongoing transformations.