In 2025, the world's oceans stored a jaw-dropping 23 Zetta Joules of extra heat — more than any year since we started keeping records 🌊🔥.
That's like burning 37 years of our global energy use from 2023 in just one year! This extra heat is driving sea levels up, supercharging storms, and causing marine heatwaves that beat up coral reefs and fisheries across Asia.
Research published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences pooled data from over 50 scientists at 31 institutions. They found the fastest warming in the tropical and South Atlantic, North Pacific, and the Southern Ocean 🧊➡️🌡️.
Although surface waters were only the third warmest on record (0.5°C above recent baselines), they've still fueled heavier rain, floods in Southeast Asia and Mexico, and droughts in the Middle East 💧🌪️☀️.
Bottom line: as long as we keep piling on greenhouse gases, these heat records will keep tumbling. It's a wake-up call to amp up climate action across our region and beyond 🌍💪.
Reference(s):
World's oceans stored more extra heat in 2025 than ever before
cgtn.com
