Heat records on land, heat records in forests, heat records in oceans: when will the records end?

Just as experts predict more heat records

Ocean temperature, Credit, EPA

Heat records tumble once again, as the average sea temperature across the North Atlantic for June 2023 rose 0.91 degrees Celsius above average, more than point five degrees Celsius above the previous record in June 2010.

In the Mediterranean area, hot temperatures fuel deadly fires, but the heat doesn't exempt the sea, as its temperature rose five degrees Celsius above average at 28.7 degrees Celsius early this week, the warmest sea temperature on record.

The sea surface temperatures across the North Pacific Ocean from Asia to North America rose above average early this week, with the eastern and central Pacific Ocean near the equator continuing to heat up, having figures generally three to four degrees Celsius above average, with localised areas of more than five degrees Celsius above average off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.

In all of the world's oceans, the sea temperatures rises above average, with one reading from a buoy  recording 38 degrees Celsius, possibly a world record for sea surface temperatures, just after the North Atlantic Ocean achieved a record-high average sea temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius last week.

The oceans absorbed around 90 percent of the warming in the recent decades, especially since 1970, when carbon dioxide emissions increased by 90 percent, with emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes contributing around 78 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions from 1970 to 2011.

Since 1990, the world has lost more than 420 million hectares or about a billion acres of forest through wildfires and other forms of deforestation, allowing the oceans to absorb more and more quantities of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, a lot of it supposed to be absorbed by trees.

El Nino approaches, and with climate models suggesting that it combines with human-induced climate change to affect temperatures on the land and sea, it becomes easy to understand the factors behind the surface sea temperatures records, rising by 0.14 Fahrenheit per decade from 1901 through 2020.

In essence, climate change causes the oceans to absorb the emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes, which in turn make the sea temperatures of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans to experience rising temperatures.

Global sea temperatures could surge to record levels in the next five years, with 66 percent likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperatures between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one year, an event to be spearheaded by rising sea surface temperatures.

Though the world lost roughly half its coral reefs since 1950, the problem could worsen in the future, as global sea surface temperatures surge to an intolerable level by 2050, killing 90 percent of coral reefs.

Global sea temperatures rose by 0.7 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times to 2014, but the heat could surge with the present emissions of greenhouse gases, as experts project sea temperatures to rise by 0.2 degrees Celsius to 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, depending on the quantity of emissions.

The present sea temperature could experience a surge in the near future, as climate change causes the ocean to absorb emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes, making temperatures to rise above average, leading to the bleaching of coral reefs, floods, cyclones, and the death of thousands of people.

The scenario reminds one about sitting on a keg of gunpowder. The consumption of fossil fuel can be compared to the consumption of gunpowder. The emission of carbon dioxide can be compared to the emission of gunpowder. The world needs to cut its consumption of fossil fuel and emissions of carbon dioxide, or suffer the fate of things that sit on a keg of gunpowder.

Three surging climate tech companies

1. ChargePoint: A leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network, ChargePoint helps accelerate the transition to cleaner transportation by providing widespread charging infrastructure.

2. Enerkem: Enerkem specializes in converting non-recyclable waste into biofuels and renewable chemicals, reducing waste in landfills and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels.

3. Orsted: Formerly known as DONG Energy, Orsted is a renewable energy company focusing on offshore wind farms and transitioning away from fossil fuels.

What to Eat

Vegan dish from Surinam, Credit, Errer.com