It’s clear that these researchers aren’t surprised that the ocean as a whole is warming. The world’s oceans have been warming for decades as a result of greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels are burned.

What surprises scientists, according to the report, is the rate at which ocean warming is continuing. Despite the ongoing El Niño current, ocean temperatures appear to be exceeding scientists’ predictions; That’s not exactly the kind of predictions humanity needs to overcome.

What’s happening?

According to the report, one of the theories put forward by researchers for rapid warming is the decrease in aerosol pollution in the oceans.

It may seem a bit counterintuitive, but 2020’s new shipping regulations are to blame, which limit the amount of sulfur dioxide that can be used in container ship fuel. When used previously, enough aerosol was formed over the ocean to prevent some of the sun’s heat from reaching the ocean surface.

That is, humanity has degraded the planet’s ecology so much that even trying to improve the situation by removing some of the destructive pollution causes more problems. Although we’d like to see more positivity in this, given the obvious consternation of researchers, the state of the ocean looks as dire as ever.