A marine heatwave in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2023 was caused by record-breaking weak winds combined with increased solar radiation due to a lack of clouds – all on the back of continued climate change, scientists found.
From Greenland to the Sahara and across to the Americas, the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean warmed at an unprecedented speed in the summer of 2023 according to a new study.
“The intensity of the warming in that single summer was equivalent to about two decades worth of warming for the North Atlantic,” said co-author Prof Matthew England from UNSW Sydney.
“While these extreme temperature events are typically only temporary, we can expect they’ll become more frequent in the future.”
At the time, Prof England was researching the so-called “cold blob”, a region of cooling in the North Atlantic south-east of Greenland which is one of the more unusual consequences of global warming. It is a sign of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) slowing down, which is a scenario made famous by the Hollywood film, The Day After Tomorrow.
The waters had been cooling for the past 50 to 100 years.
“We even asked ourselves if this was the circulation making a temporary comeback, but the rate of warming was far too rapid for that,” Prof England said.
The heatwave is essentially measured by the depth of the upper layer of the ocean – directly affected by solar radiation – which sits above the cooler deep ocean. With more exposure to the sun during spring and summer, the upper ocean gradually warms.
Co-author of the report published in Nature, Prof Alex Sen Gupta, also from UNSW, said the rate of warming depends on the thickness of the ocean’s upper layer. The thickness is set by the winds that churn up the surface waters and mix heat throughout it.
“A thin layer will warm faster, much in the same way that a pan of water on a stove with less water will warm faster than a pan with more,” Prof Sen Gupta said.
In June and July of 2023, the North Atlantic winds were weaker than ever recorded, “so the upper layer of the ocean was thinner than ever recorded”, he said. In some areas it was only 10 metres deep, compared to the usual 20 to 40 metres deep.
An extra factor was lack of cloud cover. In 2020, new international rules were introduced to reduce the sulphur pollution emitted by ships, aiming to improve air quality around the world’s major shipping lanes.
But clearer skies means more sunlight can reach the sea surface – especially in the North Atlantic, which is a high-traffic shipping area.
However, Prof England says this effect was secondary, only contributing to localised regions of enhanced warming. Most of the blame he says, still lay with the lack of wind.
“Reducing sulphate emissions is good for reducing air pollution,” he said. “Though it has the unfortunate effect of allowing additional warming of the ocean’s surface, because less sunlight is reflected back to space.”
Co-author Dr Zhi Li, also from UNSW, who led the analyses of ocean observations said the temporary thinning caused by weaker-than-average winds was also bolstered by global warming.
Long-term warming causes the surface ocean to become less dense, suppressing the ability of winds to mix the upper ocean.
“So we were also dealing with a long-term thinning of the upper layer,” he said.
The combination of weak winds with reduced mixed layer depths and clearer than average skies meant the rapid warming became a full-basin marine heatwave which the scientists described as “off the scale”.
As the warming waters radiated heat back into the atmosphere, this triggered a series of consequences on land. Air masses travelling over the top of the ocean were picking up heat to scorch cities across Europe.
Deadly heatwaves of more than 40°C across Germany, France and Italy broke temperature records, wildfires broke out, while torrential rains devastated parts of Spain and Eastern Europe.
Back underwater, the coral reefs of the Caribbean were bleaching under severe heat stress. Hurricanes, which only occur during summer, fuelled by ocean heat, intensified into disasters. That season, Hurricane Idalia hit Florida – causing eight deaths and damages worth $3.6bn.
“This wasn’t just a small area of warm water off one coast,” said Prof Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), another co-author of the study.
“This was the entire North Atlantic, with impacts on weather systems, human lives, marine ecosystems and society.”
Prof England said marine heatwaves in the North Atlantic are only set to get worse in the future, with extremely costly consequences for ecosystems and society.
“Severe marine heatwaves often only last for a few weeks or months, but this one in the North Atlantic left a legacy that persisted for more than a year,” he said.
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Meydan Racecourse racecard:
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 | 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 1,600m
8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,600m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,600m.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
·
Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
·
What is a portfolio stress test?
·
What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
·
How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
·
Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more about the coronavirus
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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