Significant reduction of potential exposure to extreme marine heatwaves by achieving carbon neutrality

Marine heatwave, a prolonged period of anomalously warm seawater, has a catastrophic effects on marine ecosystems. To avoid such extreme events, net‐zero carbon emissions by the 2050s, known as carbon neutrality, has been proposed. Here, we show that achieving carbon neutrality could result in a significant reduction in the spatial proportion of the ocean exposed to permanent marine heatwaves in the late 21st century compared to current warming projections, with a potential exposure reducing from 48%–93% to 0.02%–0.07%, depending on the ocean regions. It is clear that achieving carbon neutrality will certainly reduce the intensity of marine heatwaves almost to current levels. This finding underscores the critical importance of ongoing efforts to achieve net‐zero carbon emissions to reduce the potential ecological risks posed by extreme marine heatwaves.

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