Climate crisis has tripled length of deadly ocean heatwaves, study finds

Bleached and dead staghorn coral off Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs.

Half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating, which is caused by burning fossil fuels. The heatwaves have not only become more frequent but also more intense: 1C warmer on average, but much hotter in some places, the scientists said.