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> The global average sea-surface temperature hit a record 70 degrees on Aug. 22, according to Europe’s Earth observation agency Copernicus, which has been tracking the metric daily since 1979. The previous single-day record was measured in March 2024.

70°F is 21°C

Fish don't have AC.



since 1979

And what about the years before that?


Other agencies tracked ocean thermoclines.

Eg: Totally not tracking submarines, we're looking at dolphins and whales!

With notable funky bespoke hardware: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP_FLIP

Scripps itself has been running since 1903.


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That's like saying coastal sea level rise is nothing to worry about in places like Florida because that whole area was at the bottom of an ocean 100 million years ago.


Earth has, human civilization as we know it has not.



Did you mean “humans or capitalism”?

In any event, who cares what the climate was like before humans walked the planet? We do care about what it is like while we’re around because it puts significant constraints on our lives.


How deep is the surface measurement though? It’s a record nonetheless, but a few meters deeper - where fish actually live is likely cooler.


Deep ocean temperatures have also been rising over the decades: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/202...


Yes, but it’s not uniform at all. The paper shows cooling in some parts of the north, and heating in the southern latitudes, along with significant variations by depth.

There’s a lot of nuance in this stuff - far more than global average surface temperature (which is primarily good for scary headlines) and “fish don’t have AC”.


Do you think the general statement “ocean temperatures are rising” is misleading?


No, but it's so vague that it's meaningless.


> Yes, but it’s not uniform at all.

Translation: "I expect all areas to be affected the same, despite axial tilt, fluid dynamics, etc."


No. Not everyone boils everything down to a sophomoric take.


That's not the issue, though I recognise the poster above was remarking about fish. High surface temps means more cyclones / typhoons / hurricanes, more coral bleaching, lower fish breeding and feeding because reefs die, impacts out food chains and destroys our homes.

Im Australian, so it also means droughts, water restrictions, and significant increases in bushfire number and severity after a few years of drought. Drought followed by cyclone, or bulk rain events causes catastrophic flooding. Its a shit show.




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