100°F ocean temperatures in South Florida could set a record.

Monday evening saw unimaginably heated waters off South Florida.

After a morning low of 91 degrees, a buoy in Manatee Bay, 40 miles south of Miami, recorded 101.1 degrees at 6pm. From 5pm to 10pm, temperatures were above 100°F.

According to a recent article by Gulf News, the “ideal” hot tub temperature is 100°F (38°C) to 102°F.

Although ocean temperatures are not recorded, the Manatee Bay reading may be a global record. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist and writer for Yale Climate Connections, tweeted that a 2020 study suggested the highest sea surface temperature reliably documented was 99.7°F in Kuwait Bay.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which published the National Data Buoy Center’s findings, said water temperatures should be between 73°F and 88°F (23C and 31C) this time of year.

The measurements add to prior warnings about Florida’s warming seas in the southeastern US while prolonged heat baked other sections of the country.

Experts warn global, human-caused climate change is boosting extremes, with current heatwaves predicted to last into August.

Manatee Bay’s temperature was measured five feet below the surface, where waters can heat up. Masters stated that “contamination of the measurement by land effects and organic matter in the water” makes the temperature uncertain.

The Manatee Bay buoy temperature was one of several extreme offshore values in South Florida.

Ocean heatwave 

A buoy southwest of Johnson Key reached 98.4 degrees. Evening temperatures stayed above 98 degrees.

Most buoys exceeded 95 degrees during the day. The two dozen observation points across Florida Bay averaged 96 degrees in the early evening.

Water temperatures exceeded air temperatures. Masters tweeted that “sunlit shallow water surrounded by dark land can have [a sea surface temperature] that exceeds the air temperature.”

Florida’s hottest July coincides with the ocean heat. Miami, Key West, Naples, Tampa, and others are having their warmest July. According to Southeast Regional Climate Center data, most of South Florida is having its hottest year ever.

Miami had reached 90 degrees on 64 days, Fort Myers on 97, and Key West on 46, all year-to-date records.

Miami’s heat index has reached 100 degrees for 44 consecutive days.

These locations’ evening low temperatures have averaged 80°F to 83°F for weeks, keeping ocean temperatures very warm.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch reports that South Florida’s scorching waters are one of three Northern Hemisphere marine heat waves.

The Mediterranean Sea, which averaged 83.1 °F on Monday, the waters west of Peru, and the North Atlantic Ocean have record-high water temperatures.

Scientists say excessively warm waters around South Florida and the Florida Keys are damaging coral reefs.

Last Monday, the Key Largo-based Coral Restoration Foundation called the extremely high water temperatures “a severe and urgent crisis.”

On Thursday, foundation experts assessed Sombrero Reef south of Marathon in the Florida Keys.

“What we found was unimaginable—100% coral mortality,” stated foundation restoration program manager Phanor Montoya-Maya in the announcement. “We lost almost all corals in the Lower Keys Looe Key Nursery.”

The foundation called the situation “urgent.”

The original article can be found on Gulf News.