Sea surface temperatures in Southwest Pacific have risen faster than global average: Report

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Sea surface temperatures in the Southwest Pacific have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980 as marine heat waves have roughly doubled in frequency since then, said a report released Tuesday by the UN and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

“State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2023,” released at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, was prepared in cooperation with National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and other UN agencies and international partners.

It details how the sea level rise in the region is above the global average and also examines the climate factors in 2023, including the recent El Nino event as well as temperature, rainfall and extreme occurrences such as tropical cyclones, droughts and intense heat in the region.

“Sea surface temperatures have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980,” the report said, noting “during that time, marine heat waves have approximately doubled in frequency since 1980 and are more intense and are lasting longer.”

“Despite accounting for just 0.02 per cent of global emissions – the Pacific islands are uniquely exposed,” it said.

“Their average elevation is just one to two meters above sea level; 90 percent of the population lives within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of the coast and half the infrastructure is within 500 meters of the sea,” it pointed out.

The document further highlighted that “early warning systems facilitate proactive measures such as evacuation plans, resource allocation and infrastructure reinforcement.”

“Even though they are a lifeline, they are available in only one third of Small Island Developing States globally,” it added.

The El Nino weather phase is characterized by warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures along the eastern Pacific Ocean coast and above-usual atmospheric pressure that span across the western and central Pacific.

An El Nino, which can occur every two to seven years, started in June last year and ended in April.

The La Nina phase manifests as the opposite of El Nino, as regions that get hotter during an El Nino cool down during a La Nina, since the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean stays below minus 0.5C (31.1F) for three months.