Record high temperatures in the ocean in 2024

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 = 1021 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 Southern Ocean also experienced record-high OHC values in 2024. The global SST continued its record-high values from 2023 into the first half of 2024, and declined slightly in the second half of 2024, resulting in an annual mean of 0.61°C ± 0.02°C (IAP/CAS data) above the 1981–2010 baseline, slightly higher than the 2023 annual-mean value (by 0.07°C ± 0.02°C for IAP/CAS, 0.05°C ± 0.02°C for NOAA/NCEI, and 0.06°C ± 0.11°C for Copernicus Marine). The record-high values of 2024 SST and OHC continue to indicate unabated trends of global heating.

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Related Links

Related Dataset #1 : Argo float data and metadata from Global Data Assembly Centre (Argo GDAC)

Related Dataset #2 : CORA, Coriolis Ocean Dataset for Reanalysis

Related Dataset #3 : ERA5 monthly averaged data on pressure levels from 1940 to present

Related Dataset #4 : Mediterranean Sea Physical Reanalysis (CMEMS MED-Currents, E3R1 system)

Related Dataset #5 : Mediterranean Sea Physical Reanalysis INTERIM (CMEMS MED-Currents, E3R1i system)

Related Dataset #6 : Global Ocean OSTIA Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis

Related Dataset #7 : Global Ocean OSTIA Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Reprocessed
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Author Cheng, L.
Abraham, J.
Trenberth, Kevin E.
Reagan, J.
Zhang, H.
Storto, A.
Von Schuckmann, K.
Pan, Y.
Zhu, Y.
Mann, M. E.
Zhu, J.
Wang, F.
Yu, F.
Locarnini, R.
Fasullo, John T.
Huang, B.
Graham, G.
Yin, X.
Gouretski, V.
Zheng, F.
Li, Y.
Zhang, B.
Wan, L.
Chen, X.
Wang, D.
Feng, L.
Song, X.
Liu, Y.
Reseghetti, F.
Simoncelli, S.
Chen, G.
Zhang, R.
Mishonov, A.
Tan, Z.
Wei, W.
Yuan, H.
Li, G.
Ren, Q.
Cao, L.
Lu, Y.
Du, J.
Lyu, K.
Sulaiman, A.
Mayer, M.
Wang, H.
Ma, Z.
Bao, S.
Yan, H.
Liu, Z.
Yang, C.
Liu, X.
Hausfather, Z.
Szekely, T.
Gues, F.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2025-06-01T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-10T19:46:51.509693
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:43203
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Cheng, L., Abraham, J., Trenberth, Kevin E., Reagan, J., Zhang, H., Storto, A., Von Schuckmann, K., Pan, Y., Zhu, Y., Mann, M. E., Zhu, J., Wang, F., Yu, F., Locarnini, R., Fasullo, John T., Huang, B., Graham, G., Yin, X., Gouretski, V., Zheng, F., Li, Y., Zhang, B., Wan, L., Chen, X., Wang, D., Feng, L., Song, X., Liu, Y., Reseghetti, F., Simoncelli, S., Chen, G., Zhang, R., Mishonov, A., Tan, Z., Wei, W., Yuan, H., Li, G., Ren, Q., Cao, L., Lu, Y., Du, J., Lyu, K., Sulaiman, A., Mayer, M., Wang, H., Ma, Z., Bao, S., Yan, H., Liu, Z., Yang, C., Liu, X., Hausfather, Z., Szekely, T., Gues, F.. (2025). Record high temperatures in the ocean in 2024. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d73x8c2v. Accessed 10 August 2025.

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