Data published by the Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) shows that sea temperatures across the south and east of England hit record-breaking levels in 2022.
The data provided by WaveNet shows that in August and early September 2022, sites in Tyne/Tees (off the Yorkshire coast), Dowsing (off the Lincolnshire coast), Southwold, Gabbard (in the southern North sea), South Knock (Thames estuary) and Hastings (in the English Channel) and around to Poole Bay in the Western Channel reached new highs. In the southern North Sea, temperatures were above 20 degrees for several weeks and reached 21 degrees at South Knock beating the last twenty years of data previously collected.
While these waters are typically the warmest in the UK, the rise is likely to be the result of an extremely warm summer, particularly in the south and east of England. Across the rest of the UK, temperatures at sites such as Liverpool Bay, Moray Firth, the Hebrides, the Firth and Forth, all reached above average levels.
Established in 2002,WaveNet, hosted by Cefas, provides real-time wave heights and temperatures from a network of wave buoys located around the UK coastline. The data, collected from a variety of third-party platforms and programmes (industry and public sector-funded), give an unprecedented insight into the changing conditions at sea around the UK.
The WaveNet data, which is incorporated into Met Office meteorological models, will help forecasters, local authorities, and scientists to better understand the risks and impacts of climate change on the marine environment and coastal communities.
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Posted On: 16/01/2023