Chip Cunliffe

The North Atlantic is in uncharted territory. The entire ocean basin is a record-smashing 1.5°C above normal, as millions of square miles of ocean experience strong to severe marine heatwaves. Off the coast of Canada, ocean temperatures are up to 9°C (16°F) above average! These record-warm temperatures are already having devastating impacts on marine ecosystems. In Florida, water temperatures have soared as high as 98°F (36.7°C), with coral bleaching ongoing and expected to rapidly ramp up throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean in the coming weeks. Record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic will also fuel potentially stronger hurricanes and a more active hurricane season. More heat in the ocean equals more energy, increasing the upper limit of hurricane strength and thus exponentially increasing the damage potential of storms. For example, a 110 mph Category 2 hurricane has over 2x the damage potential of a 100 mph Category 2 storm. With over a month until water temperatures typically peak, the North Atlantic is just 0.1°C away from tying the all-time record for its highest ocean temperature (set last year), which it will inevitably break in the coming days.