In this image provide by NOAA, a fish swims near coral showing signs of bleaching at Cheeca Rocks off the coast of Islamorada, Fla., on July 23.
Andrew Ibarra/AP
It’s so hot in Florida right now that the ocean temperature in one area just crossed into the triple digits.
On Monday, a water temperature sensor in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park recorded a temperature of 101.1 degrees, according to a park spokesperson.
The startling data matched high water temperatures observed elsewhere in the Florida Bay recently, and the scorching conditions could pose a major risk to coral and other marine life, experts warn.
“High temperatures over long periods of time can have a detrimental impact on the marine plants and animals,” Allyson Gantt, chief of communications and public affairs for Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, told NPR via email.
“The good news is that temperatures are still decreasing by as much as 10 degrees at night, and salinity levels are lower at this time of year than they have been in many previous years,” she added.
Rising ocean temperatures driven by climate change have scientists and activists warning of the dangerous effects on marine life, including coral that’s recently sustained intense bleaching and damage in a short period.
“None of this is normal,” the League of Conservation Voters said in a tweet. “We refuse to accept it as normal.”
Jeff Berardelli, Florida WFLA News Channel 8’s chief meteorologist and climate specialist, told CNBC that the water around this particular sensor in the Manatee Bay is…
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