The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet's health.
The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this August, according to the EU's climate change service Copernicus.
It reached 20.96C - far above the average for this time of year.
Oceans are a vital climate regulator. They soak up heat, produce half Earth's oxygen and drive weather patterns.
Warmer waters have less ability to absorb carbon dioxide, meaning more of that planet-warming gas will stay in the atmosphere. And it can also accelerate the melting of glaciers that flow into the ocean, leading to more sea level rise.
Hotter oceans and heatwaves disturb marine species like fish and whales as they move in search of cooler waters, upsetting the food chain. Experts warn that fish stocks could be affected.
Some predatory animals including sharks can become aggressive as they get confused in hotter temperatures.
Scientists are worried about the timing of this broken record
Scientists say that March should be when the oceans globally are warmest, not August.
Scientists are investigating why the oceans are so hot right now but say that climate change is making the seas warmer as they absorb most of the heating from greenhouse gas emissions.
The more we burn fossil fuels, the more excess heat will be taken out by the oceans, which means the longer it will take to stabilize them and get them back to where they were.
The broken temperature record follows a series of marine heatwaves this year including in the UK, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.
In June, temperatures in UK waters were 3C to 5C higher than average.
In Florida, sea surface temperatures hit 38.44C - comparable to a hot tub.
Normally temperatures should be between 23C and 31C.
Marine heatwaves doubled in frequency between 1982 and 2016, and have become more intense and longer since the 1980s.
While air temperatures have seen some dramatic increases in recent years, the oceans take longer to heat up, even though they have absorbed 90% of the Earth's warming from greenhouse gas emissions.
While scientists have known that the sea surface would continue to warm up because of greenhouse gas emissions, they are still investigating exactly why temperatures have surged so far above previous years.
Source: bbc
