Our sea surface temperatures are rising this April, instead of falling like they usually do. We are set to break temperature records but why is this happening?
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00:00Did you know that sea surface temperatures tend to decline in April?
00:08Well, this is due to water having a higher heat capacity than air, which means it takes
00:13longer to heat up and cool down compared to the air above, which in turn creates a seasonal
00:19lag.
00:20So it isn't until April that the colder winter temperatures are really seen in the ocean.
00:27This year, though, it's not really the case.
00:30In fact, our sea surface temperatures are continuing to get warmer and they've already
00:33exceeded 21 degrees Celsius.
00:36It actually looks like temperature records could be broken.
00:40So why is this?
00:41Well, it could be due to the Enso cycle of La Niña and El Nino.
00:46We've just had three years of La Niña and in La Niña, cold water upwells from deep
00:51in the ocean and brings with it colder than average temperatures.
00:56Like I said, La Niña has just ended and it looks like El Nino is about to start, which
01:01is the opposite.
01:02So it could be that those suppressed temperatures in the La Niña years are going to come roaring
01:08back.
01:09This isn't a new phenomenon, though, so why is it that this year is bucking the trend?
01:15Well, we don't really know, but what we do know is that a warmer ocean is more concerning.