GENEVA, July 7, (v7n)– The southwest Pacific region is facing "increasing risk" from ocean warming, marine heatwaves, and rising sea levels, the United Nations' weather and climate agency warned Tuesday, highlighting the accelerating impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

The vast waters of the southwest Pacific are becoming hotter and more acidic, harming local economies and marine biodiversity, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Its State of the Climate in the Southwest Pacific 2025 report also warned that rising sea levels are endangering coastal communities and low-lying island nations across the region.

The WMO said 2025 was the region's second-warmest year on record—behind only 2024—with extreme weather causing widespread disruption, economic losses, and loss of life. The annual mean surface air temperature over land and ocean areas in 2025 was about 0.37°C above the 1991–2020 average.

"For many countries and territories in the southwest Pacific, the ocean is central to livelihoods, economies and resilience," said WMO chief Celeste Saulo. "In 2025, the region experienced warming oceans, rising sea levels, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification, alongside tropical cyclones and the continued loss of tropical glacier ice."

The report noted that Indonesia's remaining mountain ice cover in Papua had shrunk to only about two percent of its 1988 extent, and warned that "the last remaining tropical glacier of the region is expected to disappear by the end of 2026 or early 2027."

Marine heatwave coverage in 2025, while lower than the previous year, was the most extensive ever recorded in a non-El Niño year—"a worrisome sign for 2026, with a potentially strong El Niño event now developing," the WMO added.

Sea levels in the region rose at an average rate of 3.7 millimetres per year from 1999 to 2025, while ocean acidification, combined with warming and deoxygenation, is affecting marine ecosystems, habitats, and biodiversity. The agency said its regional reports aim to provide scientific support for decision-making and disaster risk reduction.

end/aj/rh/