Record-breaking 2023 marine heatwaves

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By Tianyun Dong et al, Science. 

Editor’s summary: Ocean surface temperatures vary from year to year, experiencing heat waves like those felt on land, but 2023 saw an extraordinarily large increase in marine heat waves with no recent analog. Dong et al. report that 2023 set new records in the duration, extent, and intensity of these events by as much as three standard deviations above the historical average of the past four decades. The increasing trends in marine heat waves present intensifying dangers to ecological, social, and economic systems. —Jesse Smith. 

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