The Marine Heat Map

The Marine Heatwave Tracker visualizes marine heatwaves around the world and the intensity of those heatwaves. The map reveals that marine heatwaves are becoming much more common. Which could be very bad news for the planet and for the human race.

As global heating increases it has an effect on the temperatures of the world's oceans and seas. A marine heatwave is defined on the Marine Heatwave Tracker as being when a location experiences temperatures for five days in a row which are in the top 10% of temperatures ever recorded at that location. The number of marine heatwaves have increased by over 50% in the past 30 years. These warming seas can have a devastating impact on marine ecosystems. They could also have a devastating effect on humanity, which relies on the oceans for food, storm protection and the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.


The Marine Heatwave interactive map uses data from over 1,000 different ecological records. It allows you to view the latest recorded marine heatwaves and to explore historic marine heatwave records since 1982. To explore these historical records you can select any date from the calendar in the corner of the map. You can also view a table showing the historical temperature records at any marine location by clicking on the map and selecting the 'time series' button.

The Marine Heatwaves website includes regular links to the latest marine heatwave news from around the world. It also includes links to the authors' own published articles and papers on marine heatwaves.