Amount of ocean heat found to be accelerating and fuelling extreme weather events

Marine habitats including coral reefs were being threatened and the heating meant oceans were less able to take carbon out of the atmosphere. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The amount of heat accumulating in the ocean is accelerating and penetrating ever deeper, with widespread effects on extreme weather events and marine life, according to a new scientific review.

One of the report’s authors said the devastating floods in eastern Australia had likely been made worse by warming oceans. The risks would continue to rise as the ocean took up more heat, the report said.