LAST April, Moninya Roughan, professor in oceanography at the University of South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, warned that huge areas of the world's oceans were 'unusually warm' and that this year would likely bring record-breaking heat.

Now comes the news from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that last month was the 'warmest September on record, setting 2023 firmly on track to be the hottest year in almost 175 years of collecting climate data.' The hottest September on record, according to NOAA, came after the hottest June, July, and August in recorded history.