July 26 (UPI) — The Atlantic Ocean temperature off the South Florida coast soared to more than 100 degrees on consecutive days amid a global heat wave.
A buoy in Manatee Bay recorded water temperatures of 101.1 degrees Monday — one day after the same floating device hit 100.2 degrees on Sunday, leaving scientists stunned by what could be a new global record for ocean temperatures.
Meteorologists closely tracking marine heat since early July called temperatures in the region unprecedented, saying the oceans have never been this hot throughout recorded history.
Readings from other weather buoys in surrounding areas did not register as warm, with one in Murray Key reaching 99.3, and another in Johnson Key topping out at 98.4.
For now, the reading of 101.1 degrees — which is about the warmth of a ready hot tub — remains preliminary until it can be confirmed by officials. The figure stands to set a new world record for the hottest sea surface temperature, which is 99.7 degrees, recorded at Kuwait Bay in 2020.
An analysis released this week by World Weather Attribution says extreme world temperatures in July were a likely sign of worsening climate change and that heat waves are no longer rare but at least 50 times more likely in the modern world.
Another report from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change blamed carbon emissions for continuously heating the Earth’s surface and oceans for more than half a century.
The past 10 years have also been the warmest on record since the first Industrial Revolution, NASA said, while many climate experts continue to express concern over the steady drumbeat of new heat records since 2022. Seas ar also rising to unprecedented levels.
Record-breaking temperatures continued to grip nearly every corner of the globe, including the Southwest United States, Mexico, Southern Europe, China, the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, with temperatures surging to 122 degrees in some locations.
In the United States, the devastating warm front was making its way across the country’s midsection, where it will affect millions more with dangerously hot weather in the coming days. Many regions of the country have tied or set new all-time records for high temperatures in July.
Hundreds have died in the heat worldwide, with many cities under heat warnings or alerts, while demand for power surged across three continents as populations struggled to stay cool.
Unusual weather patterns were fueling the heat wave, with a strong area of high pressure swirling and chafing the air, weakening trade winds that typically serve to cool the planet.
Sweltering conditions around the world were forecast to continue through September and potentially into late fall and the start of winter, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Meteorologists warned previously that an El Nino event was likely to prolong extreme temperatures into the coming months, raising the potential for even more heat records worldwide.
Florida in particular has taken the brunt of one of the hottest summers on record, with an elevated heat index lasting more than a month and making it feel like 108 degrees along much of the East Coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Last week, land temperatures reached 95 degrees in South Florida, while ocean temperatures hit 94 degrees, which was about 7 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year, experts said.
Marine scientists said the heat is having a devastating effect on sea life, including coral reefs.
