Earth’s oceans are storing record-breaking amounts of heat

Seas may have absorbed enough heat last year to boil 1.3 billion kettles of water

sea ice

In 2020, the world's oceans may have stored up to 20 sextillion more joules of heat energy than in 2019. Warmer water contributes to melting sea ice.

NASA/Saskia Madlener

Pandemic-related shutdowns may have spared Earth’s atmosphere some greenhouse gas emissions last year, but the world continued to warm.