The global average temperature also broke records for February, the data showed.
The world’s oceans are reaching record temperatures, raising concerns that coral reefs are on the brink of a massive and potentially deadly heat shock.
New satellite data from Copernicus in Europe climate change The global average sea surface temperature in February was 21.06 degrees Celsius, higher than the previous record of 20.98 degrees Celsius set in August last year, the service said.
A map released by the group shows a vast area. world ocean It was much warmer than the long-term average. The Atlantic Ocean, including the sea around Britain, was particularly warm.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has warned that ocean temperatures are now so high that the world’s coral reefs are facing the fourth known mass bleaching event.
Heat stress can cause coral Excretes colorful algae that live within the tissue. Without algae, plants turn white, are susceptible to disease and starvation, and eventually die.
“The entire Southern Hemisphere will probably be bleached this year,” Derek Manzello, NOAA’s coral reef monitoring coordinator, told Reuters.
“We are literally on the cusp of the worst bleaching event in Earth’s history.”
The global average temperature broke a February record, reaching 13.54 degrees Celsius, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
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This is 1.77°C above the estimated long-term average for pre-industrial months.
This is the 9th consecutive monthly record update. Human-induced climate change is further accelerated by a strong El Niño event, which heats the atmosphere due to warmer waters in the Pacific Ocean.
The periodic, naturally occurring El Niño event peaked in December and is now weakening, which should cause a slight drop in global temperatures over the coming months.
Scientists believe that the world’s climate will become increasingly unstable if temperatures remain at least 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for an extended period of time.
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