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Shared September 3, 2026
The average sea surface temperature just spent seven days at or above its previous record. That worries scientists for a few reasons.
The high reached 21.11 degrees Celcius, topping a record from March 2024. It’s also above the highest historical average temperature the European Union’s earth observation program has recorded since it began collecting data in 1979.
This is the fourth consecutive year that ocean temperatures have spent significant periods of time well above the historical average.
PBS News’ Tim McPhillips spoke to Svenja Ryan, an assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, to explain why what might seem like a small increase matters, and how both the current El Niño and global warming are heating up our oceans.
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