Last July was the hottest month for oceans in 130 years of record-keeping, according to the National Climatic Data Center, the U.S. government agency that keeps track of world weather records and their impact. Part of the mystery of global warming had long been where the heat was going. Scientists are now finding it has gone into Earth's bodies of water. The warming of the world's oceans will bring problems for all countries, such as Japan, that depend heavily on them.

Scientists from numerous research centers note that the steady rise in the temperature of the world's oceans will not end soon. Water takes five times more energy to warm than land does, and thus water cools down much more slowly. The heat stored in the ocean means that the weather patterns in and around bodies of water are likely to change significantly, and soon. As an island nation, Japan's closeness to the ocean means that many precautions will become necessary.

Warmer oceans mean that the El Nino weather patterns that give rise to typhoons are likely to increase. With more heat flowing out of the ocean and into the atmosphere, typhoons are likely to become more common and more severe.

The melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice has already been well documented. Japan's coastal areas will need infrastructure, emergency preparation and a clear plan for the future. Since so many of Japan's most important large cities, such as Tokyo, are located at or near sea level, that planning is urgent.

The warmer ocean temperatures will also affect the salt and oxygen content of the water — key regulators of the habitats for ocean wildlife. The migration patterns of fish and the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs are likely to be significantly transformed. Many marine animals survive within very specific temperature ranges and cannot adapt to even a few degrees of change. It may still be too early to predict the exact effects of warmer oceans on species that have long been staples and delicacies in the Japanese diet, but the effects will be serious.

Global warming has long drawn skepticism, but if prevailing scientific opinion is born out, the shifts of temperature in Earth's oceans will mean drastic changes in how humans live. Japan needs to plan ahead for this contingency.