2023 marks an ominous first: category five hurricanes have formed in every ocean basin in a single year for the first time in recorded history. This is another troubling sign in a disastrous year for the climate.

Hurricanes Freddy, Kevin, Ilsa, Mocha, Mawar, Jova, and Lee, have formed in the Southwest Indian and Pacific, Australian, North Indian, Northwest and Northeast Pacific, and Atlantic ocean basins, all with a category five designation. This comes following the earth’s oceans reaching its warmest climate on record this past August. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the global ocean was 1.85 degrees Fahrenheit (1.03 Celsius) higher than its average temperature.

Higher water temperatures lead to a higher likelihood of deadly storms forming, as hurricanes thrive off warm water. Rising ocean temperatures are also causing storms to form in regions that rarely get hurricanes, such as in California, where the state experienced its first tropical storm in over 80 years. 

America’s West Coast isn’t the only region where climate irregularities are occurring due to increasing water temperatures, as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ocean current, which keeps Great Britain warmer than other areas at its latitude, is projected to collapse by 2057 due to Greenhouse gas emissions.

While all of this is daunting for humanity, rising sea temperatures are but an aspect of the potential consequences of continued man-made climate change. This year alone has seen severe air quality warnings throughout America’s east coast due to Canadian wildfires, people getting burn victims from falling to the ground in Arizona, and the Earth recording its highest-ever temperature for four consecutive days. Unless humanity does something to curb our rampant carbon emissions, the Earth’s climate will continue to worsen, with disastrous effects for all living things.