‘Triple Threat’ of Extreme Heat, Oxygen Loss, Acidification Faces Oceans

New research has found the world’s oceans are under siege from a convergence of extreme heat, oxygen loss, and acidification, the Guardian reported yesterday.

The research, published in AGU Advances, says that about a fifth of the ocean’s surface is highly vulnerable to these compounding threats driven by human-caused climate change.

In the upper ocean layers, these extreme conditions now last three times longer and are six times more intense compared to the 1960s, scientists noted.

Climate scientists warn these unprecedented events will continue disrupting marine ecosystems and global fisheries.

The culprits are the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, which are heating the oceans, stripping them of oxygen, and making them more acidic.

Climate scientists have been alarmed by the relentless onward rise of heat in the ocean, which has hit extraordinary heights in recent months.