Climate Cast: A record-breaking year for ocean temperatures

This week, President Trump denounced “climate alarmists” during the global economic forum at Davos, Switzerland. But a new study shows Americans increasingly disagree with his assessment. Almost 6 in 10 Americans are either "alarmed" or "concerned" by global warming, an all-time high.

It follows the news that 2019 was the hottest year yet for the world’s oceans, part of a long-term trend. That benchmark is particularly alarming to oceanographers, because the majority of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gases is absorbed by the ocean.

Friday on a special edition of Climate Cast, MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with two climate scientists about how a rapidly warming ocean affects even those of us in landlocked Minnesota.

Guests:

• John Abraham is a professor of thermal sciences at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering.

• Kim Cobb is a climate scientist and a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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