Oceans break record for highest temperatures five years in a row

A scuba diver swims near bleached coral and healthy coral at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of Galveston, Texas. AP - LM Otero

Ocean temperatures have once again shattered records, a study by Advances in Atmospheric Sciences has found, warning that 2023 was the hottest on record for the world's oceans for the fifth year in a row.

The annual research, published Thursday in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, was conducted by a multi-national team of scientists from 17 research institutes spanning China, the United States, New Zealand, Italy and France.