CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Oceans Turn Deadly Dangerous

Image by Joseph Barrientos.

An estimated 82% of the world’s oceans are currently experiencing marine heat waves.” (A Surge of Marine Heat Waves Threatens to Scramble Ocean Life, YaleEnvironment360 d/d Sept. 3, 2026)

According to Copernicus, as of August 10, 2026: “July saw exceptionally high temperatures for the month across a large portion of the tropical Pacific, an area where El Niño conditions are present and forecast to further strengthen in the coming months.”

Consequently, extreme unbearable heat, raging thunderstorms, powerful, damaging flash floods, and parched drought conditions beyond anything experienced are the likely elements to follow in the footsteps of this forecast. Is it time to batten down the hatches?

UNFCCC COP31 is scheduled for November 9, 2026, at Antalya Expo Center, Antalya, Türkiye. This is the next UN Climate Change Conference. The current expectation is that COP31 will focus on “actual implementation as well as enforcement” of climate policies intended to accelerate the global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. If it happens, it’ll be a radical change from all previous thirty COP meetings of the nations of the world.

Alarming Ocean Conditions

Ocean heat is unusually severe. According to Global Climate Risks, severe hot spells in ocean waters have profound long-lasting impacts on sea life. In fact, “Current marine heat waves are already taking a toll. Dead and dying birds, including California brown pelicans, loons, and grebes, are turning up again on Southern California beaches. ‘We’re seeing cormorants walk to shore and then just die within the hour,’ Tammy Russell, a researcher at the Scripps........

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