Shameem Kazmi’s When the Ocean Forgets is a poetic yet science-rooted exploration of how climate change is eroding one of the Earth’s most vital systems: ocean memory. The book argues that the sea, long known for absorbing excess heat and buffering climate extremes, stores information in temperature, salinity, and current that helps stabilise weather patterns across the globe. But as the ocean warms, stratifies, and slows, this memory begins to break down, disrupting monsoons, seasons, and our ability to predict what comes next. Blending scientific insight with systems thinking and lyrical prose, Kazmi invites readers to see the ocean not just as a resource but as a remembering force that is starting to forget. In this review, we examine the core claims of the book and whether they hold up to the facts.
I approached this book not just as a reader, but as a fact-checker. Here’s what I found.
Claim 1: The ocean has memory — it stores information in heat, salt, and motion.
✅ Verdict: True
Ocean memory is not fiction. In climate science, it’s a technical term referring to the persistence of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over time. These anomalies affect future atmospheric conditions. Kazmi frames this with lyricism, but it’s consistent with peer-reviewed work published in Nature Climate Change (2022) and acknowledged by the IPCC.
Claim 2: Over 90% of excess heat from global warming is absorbed by the ocean.
✅ Verdict: True
This is a well-established fact confirmed by NASA, NOAA, and the WMO. Since the 1970s, oceans have taken in the vast majority of global heat imbalance — a core reason why surface warming hasn’t been even more extreme. Kazmi uses this to set the stage for deeper consequences, especially in what she calls “the deep forgetting.”
Claim 3: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is weakening, possibly nearing collapse.
🟧 Verdict: Partially True, Based on Current Evidence
Research indicates a 15% slowdown in AMOC since the mid-20th century. Some studies (e.g., Nature Climate Change, 2021) suggest we may be approaching a tipping point, though “collapse” scenarios remain debated. Kazmi doesn’t sensationalise, but uses this as a cautionary case — reasonably so.
Claim 4: Loss of ocean memory increases weather unpredictability.
✅ Verdict: True
Reduced SST persistence directly correlates with less seasonal predictability. Forecasting models — especially for monsoons, ENSO, and drought cycles — depend on historical ocean behaviour. As stratification increases, so does the difficulty of prediction. Kazmi’s argument is consistent with current forecasting research and model limitations.
Claim 5: Ocean forgetting is linked to economic fragility, food insecurity, and rising inequality.
✅ Verdict: Supported
Kazmi connects environmental instability to insurance risk, crop failures, and migration. This isn’t speculative — insurers like Swiss Re, humanitarian agencies, and UN SDG reporting confirm climate-linked volatility is disrupting systems built on predictability. Her writing is grounded in this emerging global risk narrative.
Claim 6: The deep ocean is quietly warming, locking in climate change for centuries.
✅ Verdict: True
Deep Argo data confirms significant warming trends below 700m — especially in the Southern Ocean. Kazmi’s chapter on “The Deep Forgetting” reflects this with accuracy and clarity, giving visibility to a process many people haven’t heard of but which climate scientists increasingly prioritise.
Style Check: Does poetic writing distort the science?
❎ Verdict: No
While Kazmi writes with metaphor and grace, the facts remain intact. Her comparisons — oceans as memory banks, climate as a rhythm disrupted — are metaphorical, but well-aligned with Earth system science and systems thinking. The metaphors clarify rather than cloud.
Final Verdict:
When the Ocean Forgets is more than a lyrical reflection on climate change — it is a scientifically robust, systems-literate guide to what happens when the stabilising forces of our planet begin to falter. Every major claim in the book holds up under scrutiny, backed by current climate data, peer-reviewed literature, and the lived experience of communities already confronting ocean-driven uncertainty.
But what makes this book strategic is its framing. Kazmi doesn’t just present facts, he connects them to risk, governance, equity, and our collective inability to plan in a world where memory systems are breaking down. In doing so, she offers a new climate literacy: one not built solely on emissions curves or carbon targets, but on the capacity to understand feedback, fragility, and foresight.
For scientists, it is accurate. For policymakers, it is insightful. For the public, it is urgent and beautifully told. And for the future, it may be essential reading!Buy When the Ocean Forgets on Amazon.
To learn more, visit www.shameemk.com or connect with the author on LinkedIn.