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The oceans are warming at an alarming rate. 2023 shattered records across the world's oceans, and was the first time that ocean temperatures exceeded 1°C over pre-industrial levels. This led to the emergence of a series of marine heat wave events across both hemispheres, from the waters around Japan, around South America, and across the wider North Atlantic.

Marine heat waves are periods of extremely warm sea temperatures that can form in quite localized hot spots but also span large parts of ocean basins. By definition, they have to last five days to be classed as a marine heat wave, but some major events have lasted months—even years, in an extreme case.

Notable events have led to catastrophic impacts on marine ecosystems, the economy and coastal communities. For example, coral bleaching in the tropics has caused huge losses to the tourism industry, mass mortalities or major shifts in fisheries have impacted fishing industries worldwide, and vast losses of sea grass meadows and kelp forests have decimated countries' natural capital.

Closing a crucial gap in our understanding

The UK has largely escaped any major marine heat waves that could have caused notable impacts to marine ecosystems and the blue economy. However, in June 2023, a short-lived but intense event materialized around the shores of the UK and Ireland, which was widely documented in the media.

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