--- title: "Florida’s Ocean Now Officially the Temperature of a Hot Tub" description: "The coast of Florida is being hit hard by heat waves, with one buoy registering 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a hot tub." date: "2023-07-26" modified: "2023-07-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/florida-ocean-temperature-hot-tub" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "coral reefs" - "ocean" - "ocean temperatures" - "the digest" --- # Florida’s Ocean Now Officially the Temperature of a Hot Tub ![The coast of Florida is being hit hard by heat waves, with one buoy registering 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of a hot tub.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Hot Tub Clime Machine As extreme heat waves are boiling vast swathes of the country, the oceans aren't faring much better. The waters off the coast of Florida are being hit particularly hard, with one sensor buoy in Manatee Bay, 40 miles south of Miami, registering a stunning 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit — which, as [*NBC* reports](), is around the average temperature of a hot tub. While it's unclear if the temperature establishes a new all-time record, it's entirely likely, as [*The Washington Post* points out](). All told, it's a worrying new reality that the world is facing severe new weather patterns, heightened by climate change and turning summer into hell for both humans and marine life. ## Coral Calamity Weather patterns have also quieted trade winds, which usually provide the area with a cooling sea breeze. Air temperatures in the upper 90s and strong sunlight hitting shallow water are also contributing factors, according to *NBC*. Even overnight, temperatures aren't dropping below 80 Fahrenheit, keeping ocean temperatures sky high. And it's not just off the coast of Florida. It's a global phenomenon, with the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic Ocean also [experiencing off-the-charts surface temperatures](). Nonprofits are worried that the hot tub-like temperatures off the coast of Florida could already be damaging coral reefs. The Key Largo-based Coral Restoration Foundation warned of a "severe and urgent crisis" in a [statement]() last week, with an historic heatwave threatening to trigger a "coral die-off." "What we found was unimaginable — 100 percent coral mortality," Phanor Montoya-Maya, the organization's restoration program manager, said in the statement. **More on ocean temps:** *[Scientists Horrified as Sea Surface Temperatures Spike]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()