If you want to look at the future climate, the answer is in the oceans

A new study shows that 2022 is the fourth consecutive year that the world's oceans have recorded their highest temperatures on record. Published last week in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, it is evidence of anthropogenic climate change.

Scientists say rising water temperatures are having a significant impact on global airflow. Warmer oceans are associated with stronger storms, heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall.

Since 1970, the oceans have absorbed about 90 per cent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, according to the CNN reporter. Ocean temperatures are less susceptible to short-term weather changes than air temperatures, making the oceans a good measure of the effects of climate change.

"If you want to know how fast the globe is warming, and if you want to look at the future climate, the answer is in the oceans," said study co-author John Abraham, a thermologist at the University of St Thomas.

Meanwhile, the new study also looked at the salinity index, which determines water density and affects ocean motion. In it, scientists found that the difference between the average salinity index of high and low salinity regions is at an all-time high in 2022.

It also notes that a warmer ocean means more water expansion, rising sea levels and flooding. Between 2020 and 2100, the ocean along the US coastline is likely to rise by two feet. A recent NASA study showed that ocean levels could rise by about a foot in 25 years.

The study shows that the ocean is also stratifying and forming layers of varying density, making it difficult to transport materials such as oxygen and nutrients through the water. According to the Guardian, greater stratification will cause the oceans to absorb less heat from the atmosphere, further exacerbating global warming.