Do We Have a Hot Water Problem?
Daily global sea level hits an all-time high
So what’s all the fuss about?
According to the European Union’s ‘Copernicus climate change service’ surface water temperatures have reached 20.96 degrees celsius.
We know that not everyone has enough time or energy to worry about climate change, but we still think it’s important that people have access to some basic information. Earth’s bodies of water (oceans, seas, rivers and lakes) are home to approximately 80% of all life forms on the planet. So if that water gets hotter it is directly and indirectly going to impact on everything.
One thing it can cause is a hot water ‘episode’ which are called marine heatwaves, and they can have a serious impact on the creatures that live in the water. Like coral. Did you know that although coral looks like a plant, its actually an animal!
These marine heatwaves can trigger mass damage to coral reefs, including coral bleaching. The high water temperatures can cause the coral to expel the zooxanthellae that live inside their tissue causing them to turn white. Patricia Estridge founder of a company called Seaweed Generation explains that “It’s hard to overstate the impact that warming oceans will have on ocean life. The speed of the change is what makes it so damaging – when temperatures suddenly exceed points that different life forms can handle, it causes mass die-off events. This is the leading cause of coral bleaching for example,”
Learn all about Coral and coral bleaching here.
So even though we may not think it affects us directly here on Wirral, we are actually surrounded by water on three sides, and many of us enjoy spending time at the beach, or just simply eating fish and chips. All things that may be affected by climate change in our life times.
If you are interested in learning more about the water temperature issue we found these articles really useful: