Seas & oceans warming: North Sea temperature at record high

The North Sea temperatures are unusually high. In 2023, it was measuring the warmest since records began, and 2024 is also exceptionally warm so far.

A series of measurements by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) off the island of Helgoland has highlighted the warmth of the North Sea.

With an average water temperature of almost 11.9°C, the highest temperature has been recorded in the North Sea in 2023 since the start of the long-term "Helgoland Reede" series of measurements in 1962.

The North Sea is also exceptionally warm this year, in 2024. January, February, March and April are among the ten warmest months on average since 1962. March 2024 was even the warmest March on record with an average water temperature of 6.9°C.

The data shows a correlation between the sea temperatures and the temperatures on the mainland. According to the AWI, the North Sea warms up so quickly because, as a shallow sea, it is surrounded by land masses, mimicking more a land-locked lake than a deep ocean body.

This is why the temperature trends for the mainland go hand-in-hand with the North Sea water temperature trends. According to the institute, the warm water not only affects the upper water layers, but also the habitats on the seabed.