Even with the COVID-19-related small dip in global carbon emissions due to limited travel and other activities, the ocean temperatures continued a trend of breaking records in 2020. A new study, authored by 20 scientists from 13 institutes around the world, reported the highest ocean temperatures since 1955 from surface level to a depth of 2,000 meters.
Cheng, Abraham, et al. Upper Ocean Temperatures Hit Record High in 2020. ADVANCES IN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, 2021.