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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Ajit Niranjan

World’s oceans absorbed record heat equal to 40 times annual global energy use

Pale, bleached branching coral covers a reef in Thailand.
Bleached coral in Thailand: Between January 2023 and September 2025, 84% of global coral reefs experienced bleaching-level heat stress. Photograph: Napat Wesshasartar/Reuters

A record-breaking 23 zettajoules of heat was sunk into the world’s seas last year, leaving ocean waters hotter, higher and less hospitable, a report has found.

The explosive addition of thermal energy, which was almost 40 times greater than all the energy humanity used that year, comes amid far-reaching changes to the deep water bodies fundamental to life on Earth.

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