Abstract
Huge heat anomalies in the past few years are not explained by climate models1. Strong characteristic patterns in temperatures for upper layers of the ocean occurred from 2000 to 2023 in the presence of global warming from increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases2. Here we show that the deep tropics are warming, although sharply modulated by El Niño-Southern Oscillation events, with strong heating in the extratropics near 40°N and 40 to 45°S, but little heating near 20°N and 25-30°S. The heating is most clearly manifested in zonal mean ocean heat content and is evident in sea surface temperatures. Strongest heating is in the Southern Hemisphere, where aerosol effects are small. Estimates are made of the contributions of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation, atmospheric energy transports, surface fluxes of energy, and redistribution of energy by surface winds and ocean currents. The patterns are not directly related to TOA radiation but are strongly evident in net surface energy fluxes. Changes in the atmospheric circulation, jet streams, and storm tracks are reflected in surface ocean Ekman transports. As well as climate change, natural variability is likely in play. Hence the atmosphere and ocean currents are systematically redistributing heat from global warming, profoundly affecting local climates.