AUSTIN (KXAN) — The oceans cover a little more than 70% of the surface of our planet. According to the National Ocean Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), approximately 97% of Earth’s water is found in the oceans.
The oceans help to regulate the climate, affecting the weather on land. More than that, vast ecosystems are hosted, nutrition provided and livelihoods supported not only in the United States but around the world.
Climate Central, through the study of the oceans for several years, has determined that global sea surface temperatures have stayed at near-record levels in the first seven months of this year. This is happening after record levels of ocean temperature warming in the last two years.
Data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency shows that sea surface temperature from 1901 to 2023 rose at an average rate of 0.14°F per decade. Data from 2024 shows the increase from 2023 to 2024 to be 0.11° higher.
(In the graphic above, the white line indicates the temps through late July 2025. The lighter blue above the white line shows data from 2024. The darker blue line indicates the mean temperatures from 1991 to 2020.)
The warming oceans are causing disruptions to our valuable ecosystems and the necessary nutrients. Heat-trapping pollution, those emitted by greenhouse gases, continues to warm the planet, with approximately 90% of the excess heat going mostly to the surface part of the oceans.
It has been noted a few times that we’re talking about greenhouse gases emitted by humans. Carbon dioxide, fossil fuels, and methane are the biggest contributors to this excess heat.
These ocean warming stripes indicate the warming of sea surface temperatures going back to 1850. Each stripe shows the annual average temperature of the oceans compared to the long-term average. Red stripes signify years that were hotter than average.
Most of the red stripes happened in recent ten-year periods. The extreme heating of the oceans necessitated a darker red be added to the stripes graphic.
That increase in record sea surface temperatures in 2023 and 2024 meant more fuel to some Atlantic hurricanes in addition to severe coral bleaching along both Florida coasts and the Caribbean.
Among those stronger hurricanes in 2023 were Idalia and Lee, while in 2024, stronger hurricanes included Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton.
Thus, concerns continue to grow that sea surface temperatures will continue to increase, but only time will tell if the increase between 2024 and 2025 is the same or higher than it was between 2023 and 2024.