Our oceans are the lifeblood of the planet. They are home to a diverse ecosystem that protects our planet and makes our lives possible, and they are dying. All of the Earth’s oceans are losing oxygen at a rapid rate, creating “dead zones.” In the 1960s there were 45 known dead zones; today scientists say there are more than 700 sites.
A dead zone is an area of the ocean with such low oxygen levels that life cannot exist either on or near the ocean floor. This is caused by the combination of pollution from runoffs, acidification, deoxygenation, and CO2 from our atmosphere. Large amounts of organic material produced by algae then sink and use up the oxygen. Algal growth near the surface takes different forms as well: nutrient-enriched warm water fueled record sargassum blooms along Mexico’s Caribbean coast in 2026.
A recent report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, presented at the UN’s climate conference in Madrid, has been deemed our last chance to keep global temperatures below 1.5C.
Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Acting Director-General, comments on the report, “With this report, the scale of damage climate change is wreaking upon the ocean comes into stark focus. As the warming ocean loses oxygen, the delicate balance of marine life is thrown into disarray. The potentially dire effects on fisheries and vulnerable coastal communities mean that the decisions made at the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference are even more crucial. To curb ocean oxygen loss alongside the other disastrous impacts of climate change, world leaders must commit to immediate and substantial emission cuts.”
In just 50 years, from 1960 to 2010, there has been a 2% drop in the oceanic oxygen reserves due to warming in the ocean waters. Many larger animals are at risk of mass extinction, including tuna, marlins, and sharks.
Dan Laffoley, co-editor of the report, said, “This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans as carbon emissions continue to increase.”
The deoxygenation is starting to favor the ocean species that are more tolerant of low oxygen, like squid and jellyfish, and it’s throwing off the balance of marine life. This ends up creating nutrient-rich, oxygen-starved water, gets carried by ocean currents to the coasts on the eastern edges of the world’s oceans. This will end up impacting millions of people that live in the regions.
The positive to take from all of this is that we still have time. These are science-based facts, and it affects every living organism on this planet. People need to come together for the future of humanity.
As the great ocean explorer said, “All life is part of a complex relationship in which each is dependent upon the others, taking from, giving to and living with all the rest.” – Jacques-Yves Cousteau
