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Data

Monthly average ocean heat content in the top 700 meters

About this data

Monthly average ocean heat content in the top 700 meters
Measured in 10²² Joules.
Source
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information - Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
May 13, 2026
Next expected update
July 2026
Unit
10²² Joules

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information – Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series

The time series of monthly heat content are presented for the 0-700 and 0-2000 meters layers.

The monthly data for each of the four major oceanic basins, namely the World Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean (which includes the entire Arctic Ocean), and the Indian Ocean, can be accessed on this page.

Retrieved on
May 13, 2026
Retrieved from
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-heat-salt-sea-level
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) - Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series.
Levitus, Sydney; Antonov, John I.; Boyer, Tim P.; Baranova, Olga K.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Seidov, Dan; Yarosh, Evgeney; Zweng, Melissa M. (2017). NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies, thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from 1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586). https://doi.org/10.7289/v53f4mvp.

The time series of monthly heat content are presented for the 0-700 and 0-2000 meters layers.

The monthly data for each of the four major oceanic basins, namely the World Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean (which includes the entire Arctic Ocean), and the Indian Ocean, can be accessed on this page.

Retrieved on
May 13, 2026
Retrieved from
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-heat-salt-sea-level
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) - Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series.
Levitus, Sydney; Antonov, John I.; Boyer, Tim P.; Baranova, Olga K.; García, Hernán E.; Locarnini, Ricardo A.; Mishonov, Alexey V.; Reagan, James R.; Seidov, Dan; Yarosh, Evgeney; Zweng, Melissa M. (2017). NCEI ocean heat content, temperature anomalies, salinity anomalies, thermosteric sea level anomalies, halosteric sea level anomalies, and total steric sea level anomalies from 1955 to present calculated from in situ oceanographic subsurface profile data (NCEI Accession 0164586). https://doi.org/10.7289/v53f4mvp.

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

At the link below you can find a detailed description of the structure of our data pipeline, including links to all the code used to prepare data across Our World in Data.

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  • All data produced by third-party providers and made available by Our World in Data are subject to the license terms from the original providers. Our work would not be possible without the data providers we rely on, so we ask you to always cite them appropriately (see below). This is crucial to allow data providers to continue doing their work, enhancing, maintaining and updating valuable data.
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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Monthly average ocean heat content in the top 700 meters”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Pablo Rosado, and Veronika Samborska (2024) - “Climate Change”. Data adapted from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260514-092120/grapher/monthly-upper-ocean-heat.html [online resource] (archived on May 14, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information - Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information - Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. “Monthly average ocean heat content in the top 700 meters” [dataset]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, “Heat Content Monthly Basin Time Series” [original data]. Retrieved May 14, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260514-092120/grapher/monthly-upper-ocean-heat.html (archived on May 14, 2026).

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