Ocean · heat
The ocean stores it
More than 90 % of the excess energy from warming goes into the ocean. Each ring is one year of 0–700 m heat content (NOAA NCEI), coloured and sized by the anomaly.
- Year
- —
- Anomaly
- —
Latest year, 0–700 m
22.8 10²² J
Latest year, 0–2000 m
32.5 10²² J
Equivalent in billions of Hiroshima bombs
3.6
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Anomalies relative to the 1955–2006 mean of the NCEI product; one colour per year.
Latest year, 0–700 m
22.8 ± 0.2 10²² J
2025
relative to 1955–2006
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Latest year, 0–2000 m
32.5 ± 0.3 10²² J
2025
relative to 1955–2006
Global ocean heat content 0–2000 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Lowest value of the 0–700 m series
-5.7 ± 0.9 10²² J
1968
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Latest year, 0–700 m, northern hemisphere
11.8 ± 0.2 10²² J
2025
relative to 1955–2006
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
World ocean heat content since 1955
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Global ocean heat content 0–2000 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Show the data as a table
Heat content 0–700 m by hemisphere
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI) · U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · 10/23/26
Show the data as a table
Method and sources
The series come from the NOAA NCEI ocean heat content analyses (Levitus et al., 2012, updated), built from historical temperature profiles and Argo floats; values are yearly anomalies in 10²² J with their standard error.
Read as published; no interpolation.
Reading these data
Observational coverage before Argo (2005) is uneven, especially in the southern hemisphere and at depth; the published standard errors probably underestimate the uncertainty of the early decades.
SOURCES OF THIS PAGE
- Global ocean heat content 0–700 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI)
-
Levitus, S., et al. (2012). World ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level change (0–2000 m), 1955–2010. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L10603. Updated yearly series, NOAA NCEI.
· doi:10.1029/2012GL051106 · source page ↗
Licence : U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · retrieved on Oct 23, 2026 · SHA-256 29114e2df7b8… - Global ocean heat content 0–2000 m, yearly (NOAA NCEI)
-
Levitus, S., et al. (2012). World ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level change (0–2000 m), 1955–2010. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L10603. Updated yearly series (0–2000 m, Argo era), NOAA NCEI.
· doi:10.1029/2012GL051106 · source page ↗
Licence : U.S. Government work, public domain; cite Levitus et al. (2012) · retrieved on Oct 23, 2026 · SHA-256 5b0fabf106dc… - Levitus (2012)
-
Levitus, S., et al. (2012). World ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level change (0–2000 m), 1955–2010. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L10603.
· doi:10.1029/2012GL051106
Licence : Published literature; cited