\n According to Dillon Amaya, a research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a climate cycle that is a precursor to El Ni\u00f1o now joins the distinct California marine heat wave with a far bigger area of unusually hot ocean waters that extends all the way to Indonesia. (The climate cycle is known as the Pacific Meridional Mode<\/a>.)\n <\/p>\n \n Together, these two entities comprise one of the biggest marine heat waves on Earth right now.\n <\/p>\n \n Computer model projections show this broad hotter-than-average region morphing into an El Ni\u00f1o along the equator over time, while the smaller, closer-in marine heat wave continues to bake the waters off the California coast, potentially even into the fall and winter months, Amaya said.\n <\/p>\n \n The California marine heat wave is already having an impact on the Pacific Ocean\u2019s food web. Tammy Russell, a marine ornithologist at Scripps, said that seabirds in particular are being impacted, which is a warning sign about more serious impacts to come for other species as well. Russell studies seabirds closely, and how they interact with the broader marine ecosystem.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe have been seeing an increase in the number of seabirds coming into rehabilitation facilities and washing up dead on the beaches across southern and central California for a few months now,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cMost of the birds are emaciated and have tested negative for HPAI (avian flu), therefore, we have concluded that the primary cause of this mortality event is due to starvation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n With cold water fish moving northward and to deeper depths, seabirds may be having difficulty locating their typical food sources, Russell said. There has been an increase in the number of struggling Brown Pelicans, Brandt\u2019s Cormorants and Common Murres appearing up and down the coast all the way to San Diego, she said.\n <\/p>\n \n The marine heat wave is especially intense from the Pacific coast of Mexico north into Southern California and all the way up to San Francisco, with sea surface temperatures running four degrees Celsius, or about 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit, above average in many areas. This is an \u201castounding\u201d magnitude for a marine heat wave, Amaya said.\n <\/p>\n \u26c5 Get CNN Weather in your inbox<\/p>\n The forecast is just the beginning. We\u2019ll\u202fsend you expert coverage and the stories behind the weather \u2014 so you always know more than just the number. Sign up for the newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ap26078188999497.jpg\")
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