Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record

[muriel_volestrangler]

The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.

Sea surface temperatures between July and September were more than 0.25C above the previous high of 2022 - a big increase across an area roughly ten times the size of the Mediterranean.

While climate change is known to make marine heatwaves more likely, scientists are struggling to explain why the north Pacific has been so hot for so long.
...
"There's definitely something unusual going on in the north Pacific," said Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, a research group in the US.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3xynwwx4yo

One suggestion is less sulphur dioxide from shipping in the area, and less air pollution in China, reflecting less sunlight than before.

[thought crime]

1. Meanwhile, on the Atlantic side...

There is concern about a potential shutdown or severe weakening of the complex system of currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). If that happens, it would be "game over".