BOILING POINT

Ocean Temps Were Hottest Ever on Record in 2021, Researchers Warn

The rising temps fuel hurricanes, monster storms, and extreme weather.

Ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever on record, researchers say, marking the sixth year in a row the record has been topped due to “human-induced climate change.” Last year’s temperatures shattered previous records, even despite an La Niña event that cooled down waters in the Pacific, a new study found. “The ocean heat content is relentlessly increasing, globally, and this is a primary indicator of human-induced climate change,” Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado who co-authored the research, said in comments carried by The Guardian. Ocean temps have been steadily rising since 1955, a trend that experts say is fueling hurricanes, monster storms, and extreme weather. “Until we reach net-zero emissions, that heating will continue, and we’ll continue to break ocean heat content records, as we did this year,” said researcher Michael Mann of Penn State University.