The advance of extreme heat does not let up either on land or at sea. This week, while ground weather stations record temperatures well above 40 ºC in various parts of Europe, the waters of the Mediterranean have also registered an extreme increase in temperatures. In recent days, according to various observatories, the surface of this sea has been three to five degrees above normal for this time of year. In some points they have come close to 30 ºCone of the highest figures since records exist.
Until now, it normal for this time of year was that the waters of the Mediterranean were between 25 and 26 ºC on average (ie at the same temperature as a standard heated pool). But in recent years, due to the advance of global warming and the impact of increasingly intense and frequent heat waves, marine thermometers are registering temperatures much higher than usual and more and more heat waves. This week, without going any further, temperatures have touched 30ºC on the coasts of Palma de Mallorca, Naples and Venice (Italy), Antalya (Turkey) and Paphos (Cyprus). In Barcelona, according to the latest records, the sea has been at almost 28 ºC.
The waters of Barcelona have registered peaks of up to 28 ºC in the last week
The Center for Environmental Studies of the Mediterranean (CEAM) corroborates that at this time we are between three and five degrees above normal values for this time of year. The areas most affected by extreme marine heat are concentrated, above all, in the southern Spain and Italy, large areas of the Adriatic Sea and North Africa. The European Copernicus satellite network confirms, from above, the impact of this wave of marine heat in the waters of the Mediterranean. “The marine heat wave is intensifying, especially around the Strait of Gibraltar“adds the entity.
two years in a row
The increase in temperatures in the Mediterranean warns but is not surprising. According to the most exhaustive studies carried out to date, this continental sea already stands out as one of the hot spots of the climate crisis. The water in this region is being heating three times faster than the other oceans on the globe. From 1980 to now, it is estimated that the temperature of the Mediterranean has increased by 1.1 degrees on average. In addition, it has also been observed increased frequency and intensity of marine heat waves. “What were once exceptional episodes are unfortunately becoming in a new normal“, say the experts.
The temperature of the waters has risen by more than 1 degree on average and the waves of marine heat have intensified
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years ago the scientific community had been warning that one day, surely within several decades, the Mediterranean could become a ‘hotbed’ with maximum temperatures of up to 30ºC. This forecast has not only been fulfilled but has also been brought forward to the present day. Last year, during the summer of 2022, temperatures close to 30ºC were also recorded in several Mediterranean regions. Already then, the experts warned that we were facing “one of the most intense and prolonged marine heat waves for as long as records exist.” A year later, as records confirm, this “unprecedented” phenomenon has repeated itself for the second year in a row.
If the forecasts are confirmed, and the temperatures continue to rise during the next weeks, the “extreme and prolonged” heat that the Mediterranean Sea is suffering right now could have serious consequences in several areas. Biologists envision possible mass mortality episodes of marine species and ecosystems towards the end of summer (in the same way that it happened just a year ago, when the extreme heat left seascapes totally ‘baked’). Meteorologists, for their part, warn of a increased risk of more intense torrential rains for next fall.