Record High Temperatures in the Ocean in 2024

Abstract Heating in the ocean has continued in 2024 in response to increased greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, despite the transition from an El Niño to neutral conditions. In 2024, both global sea surface temperature (SST) and upper 2000 m ocean heat content (OHC) reached unprecedented highs in the historical record. The 0–2000 m OHC in 2024 exceeded that of 2023 by 16 ± 8 ZJ (1 Zetta Joules = 10 21 Joules, with a 95% confidence interval) (IAP/CAS data), which is confirmed by two other data products: 18 ± 7 ZJ (CIGAR-RT reanalysis data) and 40 ± 31 ZJ (Copernicus Marine data, updated to November 2024). The Indian Ocean, tropical Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic, North Pacific, and…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 1947282, IA 1947282
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: IA 1947282
• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Awards: 80NSSC21K1191, 80NSSC22K0046, 80NSSC17K0565
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: NORC2022-303, NORC2022-10, 42149910
• CA
  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  Award: NORC2022-303
• AS
  Austrian Science Fund

  Award: P33177
• NS
  Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
• CN
  Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  Award: NA19NES4320002
• OR
  Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
• NO
  Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of North Carolina
• EU
  EarthLab, University of Washington