Ocean warming rates to quadruple by 2090 if climate change not mitigated

WELLINGTON, Oct 18: A new comprehensive review of global ocean temperature data has allowed researchers to paint a clear picture of ocean warming since the 1950s, and predict future warming scenarios, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Researchers found that the rate of warming in the upper 2,000 metres of the ocean in 2010 more than doubled that of 1960, and predicted that if actions were not taken, the rate of ocean warming would be four times larger than the current level by 2090, with dire consequences for all life on Earth, Xinhua news agency quoted the study published in Nature Reviews journal as saying.

Authors from the University of Auckland, the National Center of Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and research institutes from China, France, Australia and the UK, said that if the world succeeds in limiting global surface temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as per the Paris Agreement, the acceleration of ocean warming will stop at around 2030.

As humans emit greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, it causes the Earth to warm. The vast majority of the heat ends up in the ocean. Therefore, to understand how fast the Earth's climate is changing, people must look to the ocean and track ocean heat content change. Ocean warming also connects energy, carbon, and water cycles, as it is a key component of the Earth system, according to the study. (IANS)

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