An “incredible” marine heatwave off the banks of the UK and Ireland represents a serious danger to animal types, researchers have cautioned.

Sea temperatures are several degrees above normal, breaking records set in late spring and early summer, especially off the north-east coast of England and the west of Ireland. The data indicate that temperatures are rising in the north Atlantic and North Sea.

According to records from 1850, global sea surface temperatures reached all-time highs in April and May, according to the Met Office, and June is also on track to reach record highs.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States has designated portions of the North Sea as being in a category four marine heatwave, which is categorized as “extreme.” These areas include regions off the coast of England where temperatures are up to 5 degrees Celsius above what is typical.

Weather monitor: sea surface temperatures have reached a record high in the north Atlantic, according to the Met Office. The emergence of the El Nio weather phenomenon is likely to keep temperatures high.

Earth sciences professor Daniela Schmidt of the University of Bristol stated: The power of the combination of human-caused warming and natural climate variability like El Nio is demonstrated by the unprecedentedly high temperatures.

“Marine heatwaves are common in warmer seas like the Mediterranean, but such unusual temperatures are uncommon in this region of the north Atlantic. They have been linked to less dust from the Sahara as well as climate variability in the North Atlantic, a connection that will require more research to unravel.

Marine organisms are stressed by heat, just like on land. In other parts of the world, a heatwave in the ocean has resulted in several large-scale deaths of marine plants and animals. These deaths have cost hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income from fishing, carbon storage, cultural values, and habitat loss. However long we are not decisively cutting emanations, these heatwaves will keep on annihilating our biological systems. However, because this takes place below the ocean’s surface, no one will notice it.

The temperatures surprised Dr. Dan Smale of the Marine Biological Association, who has been researching marine heatwaves for more than a decade.

He stated, ” In the cool waters surrounding the UK and Ireland, I had always assumed they would never have an effect on the environment, but this is unprecedented and could be devastating. The temperatures right now are way too high, but they aren’t yet harmful to the majority of species—though many of them can be stressful. If this continues all summer, kelp, seagrass, fish, and oysters could all die in large numbers.

Professor of climate physics at the University of Leeds, Piers Forster, stated: Sea surface temperatures are at their highest level ever, according to analyses by the Met Office and NOAA. In April, the average sea surface temperature broke 21 degrees Celsius for the first time. The primary cause of these high temperatures is unprecedentedly high rates of human-caused warming.

Cleansing marine shipping fuels of sulfate probably contributes to the warming caused by greenhouse gases. The transition to El Nio conditions is also increasing the heat. Additionally, there is evidence that Saharan dust is hovering over the ocean less frequently this year. The heat is usually reflected away from the ocean by this. So, all of the oceans are getting hit with a quadruple whammy; this is a warning sign of things to come.

A 2019 study found that the number of days with heatwaves in the marine environment has tripled over the past few years.

In comparison to 1925-1954, the number of heatwave days increased by more than 50% between 1996 and 2016. At the time, scientists claimed that the heat had wiped out large areas of marine life “like wildfires wipe out huge areas of forest.”

Humanity, which relies on the oceans for oxygen, food, storm protection, and the removal of climate-heating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is also harmed by the damage caused in these hotspots.

According to a Met Office report, sea ice loss is being caused by warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures. After near-average ice loss in May, it found that the amount of ice in the Arctic was significantly below average, but it was still above record lows. On the other hand, the extent of sea ice in Antarctica is extremely low—it is by a wide margin the lowest on record for this date.

The Met Office’s head of the polar climate group, Dr. Ed Blockley, stated: Every month of the year, especially from late summer to early fall, has seen a sustained loss in Arctic sea ice extent over the past few decades. Even though the extent of Arctic sea ice at the moment is significantly greater than the all-time low, it is still well below the long-term average.

Since November 2016, Antarctic sea ice levels have been extremely low. Following a second consecutive year of record minimum sea ice extent in February, we have seen Antarctic sea ice shrink to a record low point this year.