Most people have experienced a heat wave on land. But heat waves can strike in the ocean too. Researchers say a controversial strategy to shield Earth from some of the sun’s rays would offer unequal protection for the oceans and communities that depend on them, leaving 25% to 75% of the world’s seas still at risk from overheating.

Strong and consistent evidence shows that the entire climate system is continuing to heat, driving rapid global warming. Human activities pushed global warming to 1.37°C in 2025, and its level is projected to surpass 1.5°C in about four years. Crucially, the rate at which heat is accumulating in the Earth system suggests high levels of future warming. These are some of the key findings from the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change (IGCC) report, published today in Earth System Science Data.

An international team of more than 70 scientists, including IPCC Lead Authors, Contributing Authors, and Chapter Scientists, from 56 institutions across 17 countries contributed to this year’s IGCC study.

Human-caused sea-level rise has dramatically increased the frequency of extreme coastal flooding worldwide, making events once expected every 100 years occur about 12 times more often on average, according to a Tulane-led study published in Nature Climate Change. Using long-term tide gauge records and climate model simulations, researchers found that climate change has made these flooding events roughly four times more likely since 1900.