Marine Research & Climate Change [2025.H1]

🔥 Global Temperature Report (2024) – issued 10 January 2025 by Robert Rohde, Berkeley Earth.

◉ 2024 was the warmest year on Earth since 1850, exceeding the previous record (2023) by a clear margin. The last ten years have included all ten of the warmest years observed in the instrumental record.
◉ On the ocean’s surface, 2024 was the warmest year directly observed, reaching +1.15 °C. This is the second year with ocean-average above 1.0 °C, and beats the previous record set in 2023. The 2022-24 increase in ocean-average temperatures is the largest two year increase in the instrumental record.
◉ Due to natural cooling patterns that have recently begun in the oceans, it is expected that 2025 will be moderately cooler than 2024. The most likely outcome is that 2025 ranks as roughly the 3rd warmest year since 1850.

🔥 Global Climate Highlights 2024 – issued 10 January 2025 by Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)

◉ Annual average SST over the extra-polar ocean reached a record high of 20.8°C in 2024, influenced by residual effects of the strong 2023 El Niño event and a transition towards neutral ENSO conditions.
◉ Higher than average SSTs were recorded in most ocean basins, reaching record values in: N. Atlantic, W. Pacific, Indian Ocean.
◉ Temperature anomalies over the tropical ocean show significant variability, mainly due to the succession of El Niño and La Niña events in the tropical Pacific. In 2023-24, the El Niño event was amplified by record-high temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
◉ Anomalies in N & S mid-latitude oceans have shown a steady increase over the past two decades. A notable feature of the 2023-24 temperature anomalies is their relatively slow decline after the El Niño peak in late 2023.

Observational Evidence of Increasing Intensity and Frequency of Deep Convective Clouds During the Indian Summer Monsoon Season – Antony et al (2025) – Global warming enhances convective activity, leading to taller, colder clouds that contribute to heavier rainfall. This disrupts traditional weather patterns, causing historically dry areas to receive more rain while typically wet regions experience deficits. Reports are projecting 20% increases in unpredictable extreme weather events in the coming years.