It takes an enormous amount of heat energy to increase the average surface temperature of the Earth. The oceans on Earth are simply enormous and have an enormous capacity to retain heat. But we have managed to challenge nature's ability to retain environmental gases. The Earth has become warmer. The extra heat leads to extreme temperatures in some regions, precipitation, reduces snow cover and sea ice and changes habitat areas for plants, animals and people.
Record-high annual temperatures over land and ocean surfaces are being measured all over the world.
The warmest years globally have all occurred since 1998, with the top ten being 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, respectively. There is more than a 99,9 percent chance that 2020 will be among the top five warmest years on record.
The temperature on Earth is more than 0,5 ° C warmer than the average from 1986-2005. But in many ways it could have been worse. The high heat capacity of water means that ocean temperatures do not respond immediately to the increased heat trapped by greenhouse gases. We expect the world's oceans to release more carbon in the next 5-10 years. This will lead to a self-reinforcing effect that will cause temperatures to increase further. Such a trend cannot necessarily be changed by us humans, even though we are to blame for it.
Read more about the ocean's role in the climate system at The Environment Agency.
