the waters have warmed by one degree, “imagine that it’s a fever, that you go from 38 to 39 degrees”, describes Marina Lévy, oceanographer

The waters have warmed by one degree since they were measured, on the surface and at depth “with significant consequences on many elements of its operation, in particular its habitability which has become much less important”, insists Marina Lévy, guest oceanographer, Saturday June 8 on France Inter on this World Oceans Day. Acidification of water, expansion of desert areas, drop in oxygen levels in water… All these elements make aquatic life increasingly difficult.

“When we talk about one more degree, we have the impression that it’s not much. But imagine that it’s a fever, imagine that you go from 38 to 39 degrees. This mixing of waters which is slowed down, it’s a bit like if you had a heart problem, the acidity, it’s like if you had gastric problems The loss of oxygen, it’s a bit like Covid, and therefore. we have all these problems at the same time”, explains the oceanographer.

The scientist then gives concrete examples of these effects on marine fauna and flora. With more acidic waters, “all the shells of shellfish, oysters and mussels have a harder time forming.” The poor health of the ocean is also very bad news for us, because it “protects us from the worst effects of global warming” for two reasons. The ocean has “absorbed a quarter of our CO2 emissions into the atmosphere”it is as much as the forest, and it also has “stored 90% of excess heat” which in turn means that there are more and more sea heatwaves, concludes Marina Lévy.