For New Englanders, the saying “as American as apple pie” may as well be “as New England as lobster.” But warming sea surface temperatures from climate change are forcing populations of the American lobster to higher latitudes than ever before—and upending fishing communities on the New England coast.
Ocean heat storage has increased substantially since 1993, hitting a record high in 2015, according to the State of the Climate in 2015 report. Ocean warming accounts for over 90% of the warming in Earth’s climate system.
As they were in December, waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean continued to be much warmer than average in January 2016, suggesting* that El Niño still had a grip on the basin.
A strong El Niño continued during December 2015 with well above average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s monthly El Niño advisory update.
