Inaccurate
No, the ocean is not ‘cooling’, contrary to viral claims – it’s been warming at an accelerating rate
Claim:
Global ocean temperatures have been cooling, proving there is no global warming.
Articles tagged with
Oceans
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Source: X/Twitter, Peter Clack, 2025-07-20 -
InaccurateStudy finds Southern Ocean’s surface is becoming saltier and losing sea ice, not experiencing an ‘ocean current reversal’
Claim:
New study finds a major current in the Southern Ocean has reversed.
Source: The Guardian, Twitter/X, Social media users, 2025-07-10 -
Lacks context84% of the world’s reefs recently experienced bleaching-level heat stress, but not all were ‘completely bleached’
Claim:
More than 80% of the world’s reefs hit by bleaching.
Source: The Guardian, CBS, 2025-04-23 -
Offshore wind turbines aren’t louder than high winds or passing ships, no evidence they harm whales
Offshore wind developers have faced fierce backlash from politicians and anti-wind campaigners, funded by or linked to the fossil fuel industry. Offshore wind turbines aren’t quiet, but it’s misleading to label their noise as a danger to whales while ignoring other noise sources.
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InaccurateNo, marine emissions study didn’t find that climate change is ‘greatly overestimated’, contrary to recent claims
Claim:
New study shows that climate change is greatly overestimated because oceans are cooling Earth far more than we thought
Source: Studyfinds.org, Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, 2024-12-10 -
MisleadingTemporary cooling of part of the Atlantic does not question the existence or severity of global warming
Claim:
The Atlantic is cooling, and scientists don’t know why.
Source: Steve Milloy, 2024-08-25 -
Inaccurate -
IncorrectVideo of Ian Plimer incorrectly states that human CO2 emissions are not responsible for increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global warming
Claim:
Increases in atmospheric CO2 is mainly from natural causes, like ocean outgassing, and not from humans who emit so little in comparison
Source: Conservative Political Action Conference, Ian Plimer, 2023-10-03 -
UnsupportedNo convincing evidence that offshore wind activities explain the increase in whale deaths off the U.S. East Coast despite claims of a proven link by offshore wind energy opponents
Claim:
New documentary proves building offshore wind farms is responsible for the increase in whale deaths off the U.S. East Coast since 2016
Source: New York Post, Michael Shellenberger, 2023-08-23 -
1.5Very highAtlantic ocean circulation system is slowing down, as accurately described in The New York Times article
“This article is well-written, and the visuals are outstanding. It is a very strong piece of science communication. That being said, there is at least one error. The author mistakenly conflates the long-term warming hole with the shorter-term North Atlantic cold anomaly. The two phenomena have very different timescales and are likely driven by different mechanisms.”
