April 22, 2026 — Something unusual and with far-reaching consequences is lurking in the sea off the California coast, stretching all the way down the Baja Peninsula and more than 500 miles to the southwest.
In this broad region, a large, long-lasting and record-setting marine heat wave has set in and is forecast to persist and intensify, altering the weather conditions on the West Coast and adversely affecting the marine food chain.
This heat wave, which is the oceanic equivalent of a heat wave on land, could have broad ramifications for sea life, as warm water species like hammerhead sharks and bluefin tuna migrate into areas where they are normally not seen, and cold-water species move deeper and further north.
The marine heat wave may have widespread impacts on the weather in the West, making off-the-chart heatwaves like March’s more likely and intense, supercharging rainfall and even allowing tropical systems to come northward into California.
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are monitoring ocean temperatures along the California coast, where their records stretch back more than a century. They have been recording one hot ocean record after another, especially during the past few weeks.
Since January 1 and through the end of last week, there were 36 days when sea surface temperatures at Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California set records for the hottest water temperature ever recorded on that date. This is significant, since daily data at that location goes all the way back to 1916.