Source: New York Times
According to a new study published in the journal Science, oceans around the globe are heating up 40 percent faster than United Nations leaders had reported previously, writes the New York Times.
Though oceans provide an important buffer for climate change and global warming as they absorb a lot of the heat, they will be taking a worse beating this year, researchers predict, as 2019 will be the warmest year on record.
Ocean warming is already leading to the destruction of marine ecosystems, as one-fifth of all coral reefs have already died and the ocean has more difficulty producing food, and additionally leading to more turbulent hurricane seasons on land.
“Oceans are really the best thermometer we have for changes in the Earth,” said author of the study, Zeke Hausfather, who is an energy systems analyst at the independent climate research group Berkeley Earth.
Researchers have pointed to other impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, which are changing rapidly and differently in different regions.
Read Full Story: New York Times