Arabian Sea Faces Persistent Warming and Intensifying Marine Heatwaves

The Arabian Sea is experiencing a critical environmental shift characterized by persistent warming and frequent marine heatwaves, disrupting traditional monsoon cooling patterns. Historically, strong winds and ocean mixing cooled the sea during monsoons, but recent data from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) indicates rising temperatures even during these periods. This warming is driven by the sea's semi-enclosed geography, which traps heat, alongside broader climate factors like greenhouse gas emissions, weaker ocean ventilation, and El Niño events that suppress the upwelling of cooler, nutrient-rich waters. The consequences are severe, affecting oxygen levels, marine biodiversity, fisheries productivity, and regional weather systems, including monsoon circulation and cyclone intensity. With a potential Super El Niño approaching, experts warn that these conditions may intensify, posing significant threats to the economies and food security of coastal nations such as India, Pakistan, Oman, Yemen, and Somalia. Unlike atmospheric heatwaves, this marine crisis remains largely invisible to the public despite its profound impact on millions of lives and ecosystems in the region.