A multinational research team from 31 institutions worldwide, including the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, the Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, the Institute of Oceanology（CAS）, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) of the United States, the Mercator Ocean International Institute of France, and the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia of Italy and our center, has published a global sea temperature change research report for 2024 in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (AAS).

The report reveals the global average sea surface temperature and the heat content in the upper 2000 meters of the ocean in 2024 reached the highest levels since the observations began. It is a new normal that the ocean continuously setting new warming records year after year! In 2024, the ocean heat content in the upper 2000 meters increased by 16 ± 8 ZJ (1 ZJ = 10×1021 J) compared to 2023. Based on China's total electricity consumption in 2023, if the 16 ZJ of heat were fully converted into electrical energy, it would be sufficient to support the country's social electricity demand for approximately 450 years. Related findings have been reported by numerous mainstream media, including CCTV News, Xinhua News Agency, and NOAA.

Fig 1. Time Series of Changes in the Heat Content of the Upper 2000m of the Global Ocean from 1958 to 2024（IAP/CAS）

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-025-4541-3.