From the Philippines and Hawaii to Peru and California, the massive marine heatwave baking the Pacific Ocean now covers approximately 13.5 percent of Earth’s total surface—that’s more than 37 percent of the oceans. Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “extended period[s] of exceptionally high ocean temperatures in a specific region,” and when sea surface temperatures “exceed the 90th percentile of historic local values for at least five days in a row.” Related: Ocean Temps Shattered Records Around the World in June NOAA is currently tracking two MHWs: NEP25A, in its 15th month strong and counting off Central and Southern California, and (NEP26A), off Northern California and Washington, and NOAA predicts those will last through the end of 2026. But when nearly the whole northern Pacific is blazing hot, the magnitude is larger than the scope of NOAA’s current apparent purview.…