Unusually high temperatures are being measured in the seas off the coast of the US state of Florida – and the values threaten to rise even more. This could have serious consequences for the oceans.
For weeks, sea surface temperatures have been very high around the world – according to experts, this is also a result of the El Niño weather phenomenon. In the US state of Florida, scientists are warning of serious consequences for coral reefs in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
Data from the US weather agency NOAA show that water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Southwest Atlantic are currently two to three degrees Celsius warmer than normal on average. In several places they exceed the mark of 30 degrees Celsius. The water temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius was measured on Monday night near the island of Johnson Key, off the coast of Florida. The day before, a temperature of almost 35 degrees Celsius was recorded near the island of Vaca Key, which is located in the Gulf of Mexico and also belongs to Florida.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with NOAA’s National Weather Service. “The water is so hot it can’t cool down.” According to expert estimates, the sea temperature may continue to rise until the end of this week. On land, they could feel 43 degrees Celsius due to the humidity.
Huge coral bleaching threatens
Scientist Liv Williamson, from the Coral Reef Futures Laboratory at the University of Miami, warned of the serious environmental consequences in an interview with the AP news agency. She expects “bad whitening”. In so-called coral bleaching, corals lose their color, which can lead to the extinction of marine animals.
Williamson said the probability of a major bleaching is 90% for many reefs along the Pacific Islands from the equator to northern Florida. “It’s only July – the heat will continue to build and corals will be forced to deal with dangerously hot conditions for much longer than usual,” she said. There are already reports of bleaching from the state of Belize in Central America. It was “very alarming so early in the summer,” Williamson said.
High water temperatures also result from El Niño
Excessively high sea temperatures around the world since April are a consequence of climate change, but also of the El Niño weather phenomenon. This has nothing to do with human-caused climate change, but it could exacerbate its consequences because it has an additional warming effect.
El Niño is a natural phenomenon associated with warming sea water in the tropical Pacific and weak trade winds. The effects are particularly noticeable in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and Central America. For Europe, the consequences are considered limited.