The effects of climate change are evident now more than ever: intense heat waves, destructive storms, and melting polar ice caps. In the hope of at least slowing down these indicators of a looming global disaster, countries around the world are intensifying efforts to minimise the levels of man-made greenhouse gases.
Nonetheless, even with these efforts to address climate change, scientists working for the US government recently revealed that there is no way to stop the Earth's oceans from getting warmer amid record-breaking high temperatures recorded last year.
In the annual State of the Climate report which analysed climate change-related indicators in 2014, 413 scientists from 58 countries noted that oceans were the warmest, both on the surface and upper levels, last year, especially in the North Pacific.
This is actually not surprising given the fact that 2014 is already the hottest year on record.
In addition to record-breaking ocean temperatures, the report also noted how global sea level also reached a record high last year.
The warming waters rose by 3.2 ± 0.4 mm, which is within the current trend of sea level growth over the past two decades.
How and when exactly will human beings feel the effects of the warmer, rising oceans? Oceanographer Greg Johnson from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory said the effects will be felt for centuries to come in the form of more severe storms, even if the levels of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced.
"I think of it more like a fly wheel or a freight train. It takes a big push to get it going but it is moving now and will continue to move long after we continue to pushing it," Johnson explained.
"Even if we were to freeze greenhouse gases at current levels, the sea would actually continue to warm for centuries and millennia, and as they continue to warm and expand the sea levels will continue to rise," he added.