We're in a bit of hot water

The European Union's Copernicus Project has put out this not-at-all-alarming graph:

The 21.1°C (70°F) that we reached this week is the highest-ever recorded average sea-surface temperature, and may in fact be the warmest temperature recorded since the last interglacial period 123,000 years ago.

The astute reader will note that sea-surface temperatures typically go down from August to December, and yet right now they're going up. Here's the current map of sea temperature anomalies:

So, what does the strongest El Niño in recorded history actually mean for us? Nobody really knows. That's the problem with unprecedented phenomena: we don't know how to predict anything from them.

Good thing the US has sane government willing to take necessary action to reduce climate change, right?