New Delhi, India

Climate Change is steadily contributing to heating up the Earth, and in the latest, scientists have sounded the alarm over ocean temperatures, which as per European Union's climate change service Copernicus have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature. 

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Beating a 2016 record, the daily global sea surface temperatures have reached 20.96C, which is far above the average for this time of the year, reports BBC. In 2016, a record was set when the naturally occurring El Niño was in full swing.

Warmer oceans land us in 'hot water'

Oceans play an important role in the grand scheme of things. They are a vital climate regulator, soaking up heat, producing half the Earth's oxygen and driving weather patterns.

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Warmer temperatures can negatively affect these abilities. Water loses some of its ability to absorb carbon dioxide upon heating up, this means that the gas which contributes to warming the planet stays in the atmosphere. This can also accelerate the melting of glaciers, which in turn flow into oceans, finally contributing to rising sea levels. 

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Further, hotter ocean water also affects marine life. Fishes and whales are known to move in search of cooler water, which disturbs the food chain. Other species, like sharks, are known to get more aggressive.

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A hot bath or the ocean?

Talking to BBC, Dr Kathryn Lesneski, who is monitoring a marine heatwave in the Gulf of Mexico for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, compared the water temperatures to a bath.

She said that due to the rising water temperatures, "There is widespread coral bleaching at shallow reefs in Florida and many corals have already died."

Experts, as per BBC, warn that this can also affect fish stocks.

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Dr Matt Frost, from the Plymouth Marine Lab in the UK, said that with pollution and overfishing, "We are putting oceans under more stress than we have done at any point in history."

Something to be nervous about

Scientists have expressed their worry about the timing of this latest broken record.

"The fact that we've seen the record now makes me nervous about how much warmer the ocean may get between now and next March," says Dr Samantha Burgess, from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

As per Burgess, oceans should be at their warmest in March and not August.

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This latest record comes as, globally, this year we saw a series of marine heatwaves — in the UK, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.

As per Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) between 1982 and 2016, the frequency of marine heatwaves has doubled, becoming more intense and longer.

Just last week, sea surface temperatures in Florida reached hot tube levels at 38.44C. Previously, in June, the temperature of water in the UK was recorded at 3C to 5C higher than average.