Giant red blob of hot sea water the size of Texas suddenly appears off the coast of New Zealand – and scientists warn it could devastate fish and coral

A hot patch of water off the eastern coast of New Zealand has created a huge red blob on heat maps as a marine heatwave sweeps the South Pacific Ocean. The blotch stretches tens of thousands of square kilometres and is one of the warmest sea spots on the planet with temperatures of up to 20C.   The water is 4C degrees above the average temperature of 10 to 15C, nearing temperatures in the Tropics, which range between 20 and 30C. Professor James Renwick, a weather and climate researcher at Victoria University, said the phenomenon is caused when an area becomes concentrated with sunshine and little wind.   A massive red blob off New Zealand’s east coast is a hot patch of water reaching temperatures up to 20C degrees He said the depth of the warm water depends on wind conditions.   ‘Sea temperatures don’t actually vary too much and a degree, plus or minus, is quite a big deal and this area is probably four degrees or more than that above average and that’s pretty huge,’ Professor Renwick told the NZ Herald. ‘Right in the centre of the ‘blob’ it’s likely to be more than six degrees warmer than average. ‘It’s extremely warm… Read full this story

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