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Environment

The ocean is losing its ability to store heat as the planet warms up

Until now, 90 per cent of the excess heat created by greenhouse gas emissions has been drawn down into the ocean, but this capacity for heat absorption is now being lost, which could lead to longer marine heatwaves and harm ocean life

By James Woodford

7 February 2025

Coral reefs are threatened by ocean warming

Seaphotoart/Alamy

The ocean’s ability to absorb heat into its depths appears to be rapidly declining, leading to prolonged marine heatwaves, increased ocean warming and greater stress on marine ecosystems. The loss of this vital cooling mechanism suggests we could be entering a new phase of climate change.

Hajoon Song at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and his colleagues used satellite data spanning four decades to track how sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have evolved over time.

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