PARIS – Global oceans were warmer in May 2023 than any other May in records stretching back to the 19th century, the European Union’s climate monitoring unit reported on Wednesday.

Sea temperatures at a depth of about 10m were a quarter of a deg C higher than ice-free oceans in May averaged across 1991 to 2020, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Year-round, long-term trends have added 0.6 deg C to the ocean’s surface waters in 40 years, said C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess, noting that April had also seen a new record for heat.

Temperatures over the ocean could be further boosted in coming months “as we are seeing the El Nino signal continuing to emerge in the equatorial Pacific”, Dr Burgess said in a statement, referring to a periodic, natural shift in ocean winds that enhances warming globally.

Above water and over land, meanwhile, earth’s surface temperature in May 2023 tied as the second hottest for May, according to C3S.

The Copernicus findings are based on computer-generated models that draw on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations worldwide.

Oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the earth’s surface, have kept the planet liveable as global warming caused by human activity – mainly the burning of fossil fuels – has accelerated.

The surface of the planet is, on average, 1.2 deg C hotter than pre-industrial levels, a level that has already unleashed devastating climate impacts.

‘Out of control’

Oceans absorb a quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) we spew into the atmosphere, and 90 per cent of the excess heat generated by climate change.

But at a terrible price.

Widespread marine heatwaves are decimating coral reefs and the ecosystems that depend on them, including more than half a billion people.

The accelerated disintegration from below of giant ice sheets could lift oceans by a dozen metres, and ocean acidification is disrupting life cycles and food chains from the tropics to the poles.

Moreover, oceans – along with forests and soil, which soak up an even larger percentage of human-generated greenhouse gases – are showing signs of battle fatigue, and their capacity to soak up CO2 could diminish.

Copernicus also reported that temperatures in several parts of the world were higher than normal, including in Canada, where wildfires over the last several weeks have so far decimated more than three million ha.

There are 413 wildfires burning across the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic, including 249 considered “out of control”.

Earlier in June, the World Meteorological Organisation said there was a 60 per cent chance that an El Nino would form before the end of July, and an 80 per cent chance by the end of November.

Most of the warmest years on record have occurred during El Ninos, and scientists are concerned that this summer and next could see record temperatures on land and in the sea.

In Antarctica, meanwhile, sea ice extent reached a monthly record low for the third time in 2023, with satellite data showing it was 17 per cent below average in May. AFP