---
title: "Scientists: Warming Oceans Will Lead to “Catastrophic” Future"
description: "## Climate Report"
date: "2019-01-12"
modified: "2019-01-12"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-warming-oceans-catastrophic"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "climate change"
  - "global warming"
  - "oceans"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists: Warming Oceans Will Lead to “Catastrophic” Future

![A new study in the journal Science has found that climate change is warming oceans far faster than experts had previously predicted.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/scientists-warming-oceans-catastrophic.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Upsplash/Alexandra Rose\</em\>*

## Climate Report

A [new study](<http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6423/128.summary>) in the journal *Science* has found that the Earth's oceans are warming far faster than experts had previously predicted, leading to a bleak outlook among climate scientists who say the rapid environmental shifts will lead to international disputes, humanitarian crises and deadly freak weather events.

The *New York Times*, for instance, [summarized researchers' view of the findings](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html>) as "catastrophic."

"It’s spilling over far beyond just fish, it’s turned into trade wars," Rutgers professor Malin Pinsky told the newspaper. "It’s turned into diplomatic disputes. It's led to a breakdown in international relations in some cases."

## Warming Oceans

As the greenhouse effect has intensified, according to the new research, the oceans have born the brunt of global warming. Readings suggest that 2018 will be the hottest year on record for the planet's seas, replacing 2017 and 2016 before it.

The effects for weather patterns and marine life are dire, experts warn — and [food shortages](<https://futurism.com/ocean-continues-warm-fish-menu>) and displacement will leak into geopolitics long before we scorch life above the waterline as well.

"If the ocean wasn’t absorbing as much heat, the surface of the land would heat up much faster than it is right now," Pinsky told the *Times. "*In fact, the ocean is saving us from massive warming right now."

**READ MORE:** [Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/climate/ocean-warming-climate-change.html>) \[*The New York Times*\]

***More on climate change:** [Scientists Want to Fight Climate Change by Dimming the Sun](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/geoengineering-climate-change>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)