Warmest ever week of sea temperatures recorded

Irish waters off the west coast saw unprecedented marine temperatures in June of up to 5C higher than normal.

The warmest-ever week for sea surface temperatures has become the latest unenviable record to fall as a result of the climate crisis.

According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the average daily global sea surface temperature reached 20.96C, breaking the previous record set in 2016.

Unconfirmed reports from Manatee Bay in Florida recorded the temperature in the sea as 38.4C, which is similar to taking a hot bath, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

The WMO warned that sea surface temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea will be "exceptionally high" over the coming days and weeks, exceeding 30C in some parts, and more than 4C above average in a large part of the western Mediterranean.

Irish waters off the west coast saw unprecedented marine temperatures in June of up to 5C higher than normal.

Wildlife

Research from the University of Washington on the US west coast found last month that seabirds are some of the biggest casualties of marine heatwaves.

Scientists examined data from beaches from central California to Alaska over the past 30 years, finding persistent marine heat waves lead to massive seabird deaths months later. 

The results of the study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, were based on 90,000 surveys of 106 species on more than 1,000 beaches.

Puffins, auklets, murres, and shearwaters were particularly vulnerable, with seabird deaths most likely exceeding 250,000 about once every 10 years.

That type of catastrophic mass death has now sped up dramatically as marine heatwaves intensify, the study found. 

Between 2014 and 2019, five events met this mortality threshold, the UW team found.

Meanwhile, the heatwaves on land that consumed much of Europe in July may have abated but other parts of the world remain in the grip of extreme events.

Heatwaves

On Friday, around 4,000 British scouts left the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea, instead moving into hotels to avoid the fallout from the extreme heat. 

The event, which is playing host to more than 40,000 young people between 14 and 18 from across the world, saw hundreds fall ill from heat-related conditions as temperatures hovered around 35C.

The Chilean mountain town of Vicuna in the central part of the country reached 37C despite it being the middle of winter. 

Such a temperature has not been recorded for more than 70 years, Chilean meteorologist Cristobal Torres said.

The Argentinian capital Buenos Aires exceeded 30C despite the average for this time of year being 9C to 18C. 

Historian Maximiliano Herrera said: "South America is living one of the extreme events the world has ever seen. This event is rewriting all climatic books."

Chile's environment minister Maisa Rojas, who is a climatologist, said global warming due to climate change plus the El Niño phenomenon is driving the event.

El Niño refers to warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, affecting the rest of the world when it happens.

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