![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-09-KQED-028650c2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEl Ni\u00f1o has pushed Monterey Bay\u2019s ocean water temperatures to historic highs. One clear sign: warm-water species that are rarely seen offshore of the Central California Coast.<\/p>\n
Nov 2, 2026<\/p>\n
Updated 2:56 pm PT<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During recent blue-water scuba diving operations, MBARI researchers observed gelatinous animals that typically live in tropical waters and were brought north into Central California by El Ni\u00f1o. Warm ocean temperatures from El Ni\u00f1o have reached Monterey Bay. Scientists say the shift in ocean temperatures could threaten local species and kelp forests.\u00a0(Courtesy of Lena Vincent\/MBARI)<\/p>\n
Ocean water temperatures in Monterey Bay<\/a> are now the warmest observed in more than 30 years<\/a> \u2014 clear evidence of El Ni\u00f1o\u2019s arrival on the Central Coast, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.<\/p>\n Researchers said the warming is partly due to Kelvin waves<\/a>, a giant underwater swell that slowly delivers El Ni\u00f1o-associated warm water across the Pacific Ocean.\u00a0<\/p>\n As many as three Kelvin waves have already moved up the California coast. Scientists tracking the phenomenon found a strong influx of warm water at depth, around 200 feet below the ocean\u2019s surface, which is a \u201cdefinitive signature of the arrival of El Ni\u00f1o,\u201d researchers wrote in a recent post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Researchers wrote that as of Oct. 26, the temperature reached 18.18 degrees Celsius \u2014 roughly 64 degrees Fahrenheit \u2014 \u201csurpassing the time-series record high set on November 19, 1997, during a previous El Ni\u00f1o event.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis current El Ni\u00f1o has been forecasted to be one of the strongest of the modern record and the M1 mooring confirms this forecast for Monterey Bay,\u201d said senior scientist Francisco Chavez, of the institute\u2019s buoy with instruments to about 300 feet below the surface of the ocean.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an 83% chance<\/a> that this year\u2019s El Ni\u00f1o will become \u201chistoric\u201d this fall and winter, according to an October outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Climate Prediction Center.<\/p>\n The seasonal climate pattern is marked by warming in the Pacific Ocean\u2019s surface layer. When tropical trade winds weaken or reverse, warm ocean water near Asia can slosh toward the Pacific Coast.<\/p>\n That warming has many effects: it can reshape the jet stream and bring stormier weather, disrupt the ocean\u2019s nutrient-rich upwelling, heat coastal waters, raise sea levels and stress marine life.<\/p>\n The absence of cool water near the surface can have major ramifications on ocean life. Chavez said the strongest impacts will likely occur this winter and spring.<\/p>\n Kelp could die or recede. It could also lead to meteorological impacts like intense rainfall and flooding.<\/p>\n Experts have already sighted warm-water species near the surface that aren\u2019t usually seen in the region, including tropical species like the winged comb jelly<\/a> and a rose siphonophore<\/a>. They also saw schools of halfmoon fish, which are usually found in Southern California.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTypically, we collect tropical species like [winged comb jelly] while diving near Hawaii,\u201d said Steven Haddock, a senior scientist with the institute. \u201cFinding large reproductive individuals right in our own backyard was a real surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n The warm-water species can affect local marine life and cause \u201ccascading effects on the ocean food web,\u201d researchers wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSeabirds are especially vulnerable to shifting food supplies, while whales find their habitat and feeding grounds compressed near the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n Other researchers have also spotted species at lower depths not usually found in Monterey Bay, including juvenile pelagic red crabs and several Humboldt squid.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a rule, these warm-water species are uncommon here in the cool depths of Monterey Bay,\u201d BARI Senior Scientist Bruce Robison said. \u201cThese sightings are likely the first indicators of a transition in deep midwater community composition and structure, linked to the impending El Ni\u00f1o.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"El Ni\u00f1o has pushed Monterey Bay\u2019s ocean water temperatures to historic highs. One clear sign: warm-water species that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-665497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-06-KQED-38d02ea2.jpg\")
ROV Doc Ricketts and other advanced underwater technologies enable MBARI researchers to monitor the impacts of El Ni\u00f1o on deep-sea ecosystems. \u00a0(Courtesy of Giovanna Sainz\/MBARI)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-02-KQED-cf641ff2.jpg\")
MBARI has built a time series with nearly 40 years of hourly ocean temperature records in the heart of Monterey Bay at a depth of 60 meters (approximately 200 feet) underwater. All years are plotted as thin gray lines; the average year is the green line, and the current year is plotted in purple with the remainder of the previous year in dark green. The warmest measurement ever to date was observed on Oct. 26, 2026.\u00a0(Courtesy of Francisco Chavez\/2026 MBARI)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-04-KQED-dbaad1ff.jpg\")
MBARI researchers typically see the siphonophore Athorybia during their fieldwork in Mexico. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-05-KQED-c65d01b9.jpg\")
MBARI researchers typically encounter the ctenophore Ocyropsis, recently spotted offshore of California\u2019s Central Coast, in the tropical waters of Hawaii. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261102-El-Nino-Monterey-07-KQED-742d4a96.jpg\")
Large numbers of pelagic red crabs (Grimothea planipes) visit Monterey Bay during El Ni\u00f1o years, but MBARI has never observed juveniles of this warm-water crustacean this far north.\u00a0(Courtesy of MBARI)<\/p>\n