Record sea temperature recorded in the central Pacific — BBC News
The average weekly sea surface temperature in the central Pacific reached its highest level on record, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology reported. El Niño continues to strengthen several weeks ahead of its forecast peak in December, BBC News reports.
New temperature records
In September, a record daily sea surface temperature was also recorded in the central-eastern Pacific, exceeding the level seen during the strong El Niño of 2015. In some areas of the tropical Pacific, temperatures exceeded 30°C for the first time. Scientists also noted record sea surface temperature anomalies and exceptionally warm waters below the surface.
El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon that occurs approximately once every two to seven years and usually lasts about a year. At the same time, the Pacific Ocean is warming due to human-caused climate change, making it more difficult to compare the current phenomenon with previous ones.
Comparison and forecast
Australian and US official forecasters use the relative oceanic El Niño index for such comparisons. According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, weekly averages under this index, available since 2008, have already exceeded the levels of the record December of 2015.
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Berkeley Earth climatologist Zeke Hausfather said that the current El Niño event is unprecedented in historical data. According to him, warming is affecting not only the traditional tropical El Niño monitoring region, but also much broader areas of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The World Meteorological Organization notes that there is currently no evidence that climate change is making El Niño stronger or more frequent. At the same time, the phenomenon releases additional heat from the ocean into the atmosphere, which is why El Niño years are usually warmer globally.
Forecasts by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicate that El Niño is likely to peak in December. The World Meteorological Organization already reports drought- and flood-related disruptions in several regions, as well as food security concerns in parts of East Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
