The Scripps Institution of Oceanography announced Thursday the highest sea-surface temperature ever recorded at the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier in La Jolla.
A reading of 78.6 degrees on Wednesday, Aug. 1, was the the highest temperature for any date in the 102 years that temperatures have been recorded at the pier.
The average sea surface temperature in early August at the pier is 68 degrees, according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.
The National Weather Service said the warm ocean water is contributing to the current hot, muggy weather in coastal San Diego.
Scientists at Scripps have taken daily measurements at the pier since 1916, as part of the Shore Stations Program, the oldest temperature record on the Pacific Rim.
Scripps researchers said Thursday the record ocean warmth is consistent with similar records for high temperatures set on land as well as the rise in extreme weather events in 2018. They said records will become easier to break as global warming continues.
“Like other climate change trends, background warming enhances the probability and magnitude of extreme events,” said Scripps oceanographer and Shore Stations principal investigator Reinhard Flick.
