Ocean nears record heat as one state warned of a stormy Spring
A record-breaking El Niño is rapidly heating up the Pacific Ocean with experts warning that NSW could be in for a severe storm season.
With sea temperatures in the central tropical Pacific Ocean nearing record-highs, experts have warned the massive climate driver will produce far-reaching impacts both at sea and on land over the coming months.
Experts are warning NSW to brace for a stormy Spring. Dean Sewell
Severe storm season approaches warm spring
Authorities are warning NSW residents must remain on high-alert as the state enters a high-risk weather season.
It follows an unusually warm winter with below-average, dry climate drivers typically bring hotter conditions, but forecasters warn severe weather can still abruptly ignite.
Emergency Services Minister, Jihad Dib has warned people across NSW to tie down any loose items as an intense storm season nears.
“Things can happen really quickly with the weather,” he said.
“Don’t think that because people are talking about a hot summer that that means it’s going to be, you know, only about bushfires.”
During the previous storm season, NSW State Emergency Service crews responded to nearly 19,000 emergencies.
That includes 7000 for fallen trees and more than 6000 for damaged or torn-off roofs.
Officials have urged residents to clear gutters, secure loose outdoor items, and prepare emergency plans now, warning that sea surface temperatures east of the divide will modulate local weather patterns over Spring.
Record El Niño impacting marine life
The record-breaking system is also shaping up to have dire offshore consequences too as it triggers widespread disruption for sea life.
Since developing in the last few months, the El Niño system is strengthening at a rapid place with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting relative ocean temperatures in the central tropical Pacific could see a 3.6 degree increase by November.
That would shatter the previous record of a 2.65 degree rise which was set more than a century ago in 1902.
Weakened trade winds have caused warm surface water to pool across the central and eastern Pacific which has shut down the cold, nutrient-rich upwelling that helps marine life.
The system has been found to have a ripple effect on the entire marine food chain. Supplied
NASA’s PACE satellite has already detected a dip in the amount of phytoplankton, which is the foundation of the marine food web.
Fisheries have also begun feeling the impact with fishing operations in Peru having been suspended recently due to the development of El Niño.
Anchovy fishing in the nation constitutes about 20 per cent of the world’s fishmeal and oil production.
This isn’t the first time either, with the operations being highly sensitive to El Niño, causing significant decline in fish numbers in Peru due to the warm surface water.
Seabirds can also be impacted by disruptions to marine food webs driven by the system.
In July, there were reports of pelicans flocking to Peruvian ports to find food as fish stocks declined offshore.
Coral bleaching can also be tied back to El Niño’s ocean warmth.
Probability of coral bleaching in the next four months. NOAA
Forecasts from NOAA’s National Weather Service found that there is a 90 per cent chance of coral bleaching across a huge area of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean in the next four months.
This mapped area closely matches the warm water footprint of El Niño.
The event will continue to have a large impact worldwide until early 2027.
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