The oceans are warming much faster than we feared

Come on in — the water's getting warmer.

New research shows that the world's oceans are getting warmer at a much faster rate than previously thought, The New York Times reported. The oceans have, in the past, provided an essential counter to the effects of climate change, but that may be changing.

The oceans have been record-breakingly warm for several years now, per a study published in the journal Science on Thursday. And what's more, they're getting about 40 percent warmer than a United Nations panel estimated back in 2014. That all adds up to a pretty dire picture for our planet going forward.

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Earth's oceans absorb up to 93 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases — and as they get warmer, adverse effects such as loss of marine life, vanishing ecosystems, and worsening storms are bound to ramp up.

"Oceans are really the best thermometer we have for changes in the Earth," said Zeke Hausfather, one of the authors of the study. And if this thermometer is anything to go by, things are getting ugly. Read more about the new study at The New York Times.