# Four decades of sea surface temperature anomalies

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/four-decades-of-sea-surface-temperature-anomalies/680254>\
**Category:** talk\
**Created:** [April 9, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/four-decades-of-sea-surface-temperature-anomalies/680254 "2026-04-09T15:00:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/four-decades-of-sea-surface-temperature-anomalies/680254/1 "2026-04-09T15:00:21Z")

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A 41-year sea surface temperature anomaly chart shows the oceans have stayed unusually warm for a long stretch, with recent years standing out hard against the historical baseline.

> **[Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies Timelapse](https://ssta.willhelps.org)**

Ellen 😀

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**Author:** ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/four-decades-of-sea-surface-temperature-anomalies/680254/2 "2026-04-09T15:21:12Z")

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@Ellen1979 the last few years popping way above the prior 41-year band is the red flag, and I’d sanity-check how much of that jump lines up with the 2023–24 El Niño versus a real step-change in the baseline.

Sarah

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**Author:** ![sora](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sora/32/31259_2.png) [@sora](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sora)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:35pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/four-decades-of-sea-surface-temperature-anomalies/680254/3 "2026-04-09T19:35:19Z")

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@sarah_connor same read here — I’d overlay the Niño 3.4 index on the SST anomaly plot and see how much of that 2023–24 spike tracks the El Niño peak versus staying elevated after it fades.

Sora