Oceans hit highest temperature on record
Oceans hit highest temperature on record
全球海洋温度创下历史新高
The world’s oceans are hotter than ever recorded, new data suggests, as they suffer from human-caused climate change and the growing El Niño weather phenomenon. 最新数据显示，受人类活动引起的气候变化和日益增强的厄尔尼诺现象影响，全球海洋温度已达到有记录以来的最高水平。
The average surface temperature of the planet’s seas outside the polar regions hit 21.1C (70F) on Saturday, according to figures from the European Copernicus climate change service. 根据欧洲哥白尼气候变化服务局的数据，上周六，全球极地以外海域的平均表面温度达到了21.1摄氏度（70华氏度）。
That edges past the 21.09C recorded on three separate days in March 2024, and is far above average for the time of year. 这一数值略高于2024年3月曾出现过的21.09摄氏度，且远高于往年同期的平均水平。
Warmer oceans can have wide-reaching consequences, including supercharging extreme weather, raising sea levels and harming marine life. 海洋变暖会带来广泛的后果，包括加剧极端天气、导致海平面上升以及危害海洋生物。
“This record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress,” said Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus. “El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming,” she added. 哥白尼气候变化服务局副局长萨曼莎·伯吉斯（Samantha Burgess）博士表示：“这一纪录再次明确发出信号，表明海洋正承受着越来越大的压力。”她补充道：“厄尔尼诺现象正在为海洋系统增加热量，但这是在人类活动导致数十年变暖的基础上叠加的。”
The data is based on sea temperatures 10m (32ft 10in) below the surface, using measurements from buoys, ships and satellites, which are combined to produce a global estimate. 该数据基于海面以下10米（32英尺10英寸）处的温度，通过浮标、船舶和卫星的测量结果综合计算得出全球估算值。
While the margin of record is currently very small and any global estimate comes with uncertainties, scientists say its timing is particularly notable. Average worldwide sea temperatures tend to reach their yearly peak in March or April, which corresponds to the end of summer in the southern hemisphere - and not in August. 尽管目前的破纪录幅度很小，且任何全球估算都存在不确定性，但科学家们认为其发生的时间点尤为值得注意。全球平均海温通常在3月或4月达到年度峰值，这对应的是南半球夏季结束之时，而非8月。
The southern hemisphere contains more of the planet’s ocean surface than the northern hemisphere and so exerts a bigger influence on average sea temperatures. 南半球的海洋面积比北半球大，因此对全球平均海温的影响更大。
What is especially concerning to scientists is that the oceans are already so hot when the natural El Niño weather phenomenon is still some way off its expected peak. 令科学家们尤为担忧的是，在自然发生的厄尔尼诺现象尚未达到预期峰值的情况下，海洋就已经变得如此炎热。
El Niño brings unusually warm waters to the surface of the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean. Warmer waters across such a large area means that global average temperatures typically spike too. 厄尔尼诺现象将异常温暖的海水带到东太平洋和中太平洋热带海域的表面。如此大范围的海水变暖意味着全球平均气温通常也会随之飙升。
El Niño is expected to keep strengthening until Christmas time, with scientists warning that it is on course to be the strongest in centuries. This could see ocean temperatures climb yet further. 预计厄尔尼诺现象将持续增强至圣诞节前后，科学家警告称，它正朝着几个世纪以来最强的一次发展。这可能会导致海洋温度进一步攀升。
“The fact that we are already breaking records is an early indicator of how strong the El Niño is becoming,” said Dr Jeremy Grist, senior research fellow at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. “All things being equal we might expect the ocean temperature record to be broken again in March [or] April 2027,” he added. 南安普顿国家海洋学中心高级研究员杰里米·格里斯特（Jeremy Grist）博士说：“我们现在就已经打破纪录，这是厄尔尼诺现象正在变得多么强烈的早期指标。”他补充道：“在一切条件相同的情况下，我们预计海洋温度纪录可能会在2027年3月或4月再次被打破。”
The waters far away from El Niño’s Pacific hunting ground are also extremely warm, including around the UK and Europe. The western English Channel has seen almost continuous marine heatwave conditions for more than three years, peaking at 7C above normal in July, according to Prof Tim Smyth, director of science at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. “This is unprecedented,” he added. 远离厄尔尼诺现象太平洋“主战场”的海域也异常温暖，包括英国和欧洲周边海域。普利茅斯海洋实验室科学主任蒂姆·史密斯（Tim Smyth）教授表示，英吉利海峡西部已连续三年多出现几乎持续的海洋热浪，7月份的温度比正常水平高出7摄氏度。他补充说：“这是前所未有的。”
Scientists say such widespread warmth around the planet is a clear sign of the growing effect that human-caused climate change is having on the world’s seas. The oceans take up more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels. “The latest Copernicus data reinforce the troubling upward trend in ocean temperatures,” said Smyth. 科学家们表示，全球范围内如此广泛的变暖是人类引起的气候变化对世界海洋影响日益加剧的明确信号。海洋吸收了人类温室气体排放（主要来自化石燃料燃烧）所产生的90%以上的多余热量。史密斯说：“最新的哥白尼数据强化了海洋温度令人不安的上升趋势。”
Warmer seas help to fuel more extreme weather. They can provide storms with extra moisture and energy, and can intensify heatwaves on land in some coastal regions by reducing the cooling effect of sea breezes. 海洋变暖有助于助长更多的极端天气。它们能为风暴提供额外的水分和能量，并通过减弱海风的冷却效应，加剧一些沿海地区的陆地热浪。
Warmer water also takes up more space, raising sea levels and bringing a greater risk of coastal flooding - while intense ocean heat can be devastating for sea habitats, such as coral reefs. 温暖的海水体积也会膨胀，从而导致海平面上升，带来更大的沿海洪水风险；同时，强烈的海洋高温对珊瑚礁等海洋栖息地可能是毁灭性的。
The increasing frequency of marine heatwaves is already “putting increasing pressure on marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them”, Burgess said. 伯吉斯表示，海洋热浪频率的增加已经“给海洋生态系统以及依赖它们的社区带来了越来越大的压力”。