A new record for water temperature was set Wednesday in Atlantic City.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, Burlington County, tweeted Thursday afternoon that the water temperature reached 83.3 degrees at the Atlantic City Marina at 6 p.m. Wednesday, eclipsing the previous record of 83.1 degrees, set on July 31, 2011.
Official records date back to 1995, the NWS said.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, cautioned in a statement that the record is no cause for celebration.
“This shows that sea level rise and climate change are happening and they are happening at a faster rate than originally projected," he wrote. "We are seeing storms getting stronger at a higher rate, fish living in storm drains, and the ocean off our coast becoming more tropical.”
“The warmest ocean temperature record is ... something of serious concern. It shows that we are facing serious problems and we are not even done with summer. While this is happening, [Gov, Chris] Christie is denying the science of climate change. Communities have already suffered from the effects of sea level rise, flooding and storm surges."