Intense Mediterranean Sea heatwave raises fears for marine life

Hot water on the sea shore may look attractive to your holiday dip, but recently an ocean heatwaves in the Mediterranea Sea are afraid of such intense scientists for marine life.

Sea surface temperature regularly passed through locations more than six or seven degrees, in 30C and other places from the coast of Majorka in late June and early July.

This is probably hot compared to your local holiday center swimming pool.

It is the most extreme marine heatwave of Western Meds that has been recorded for the time of the year, which finally affects large areas of the sea for weeks.

The heat looks cold, but some species struggle to deal with such long and intense heat with potential knock-on effects for fish stocks.

To give you some ideas about these temperatures, most holiday centers swimming pools are heated up to about 28C. World Aquatics says that the competitive swimming pool is slightly cooled at 25–28C.

According to the Swimming Teachers Association, children’s pools are slightly warm, which are recommended for 29–31c or 30–32c infants.

Balmi temperature can cause hidden threats. Harmful bacteria and algae often spread more easily in warm sea – which is not treated with your local pool -like cleaning chemicals.

Sea temperatures of 30c or more are not unprecedented in meds in late summer.

But they are highly uncommon for June, according to data on European Copernicus Climate Service, Mercarin Ocean International and Spanish ports.

“What is different this year that 30C sea temperature has come long ago, and means that we can expect more than summer and longer than summer,” said Associate Professor Marta Marcos at the University of Belleric Islands in Spain.

“I grew up here, so we are used for heatwaves, but it has become more and more intense.”

“We are all surprised in the magnitude of this heatwave,” said Ada Alvera-Azcrat, a oceanist at Leg University in Belgium.

“This is a matter of high concern, but it is something that we can expect to be again in the future.”

Marine heatwaves are becoming more intense and long-lasting because humanity releases planetary-warming gases in our environment, mainly by burning coal, oil and gas.

In fact, the number of extreme sea surface summer days globally has been tripled in the last 80 years. Research published earlier this year,

“Global warming is the main driver of marine heat waves … it is essentially transferring heat from the atmosphere to the sea. It is very simple,” Dr. Marcos said.

The Mediterranean is particularly weak because it is slightly like a bathtub, which is roughly surrounded by continents instead of open sea.

This means that water cannot escape easily, so its surface gets hot quickly in the presence of hot air, sunny sky and light winds – As in June,

For this reason, the med “is a climate change hotspot”, a non-profit research organization Kareena von Shukman of Mercator Oshan International.

The heat as June turned to the peak in July, after which the strong winds allowed the deep, cold water to mix with the hot surface and bring down the temperature.

But the temperature is above average and can be results for marine life that we do not yet know.

Most life has a temperature range that it cannot survive, although it varies very different between species and individuals.

But sea creatures can also suffer from prolonged heat risk, which can essentially lead their energy to a point through summer where they can no longer cope.

“I remember diving in September four years ago in the end of summer, we found skeletons of many, many, many population,” said Emma Cebrian, an echoler at the Center for Advanced Studies of Blan.

Marine algae and cigras do slightly like the forests of the Mediterranean Sea, locking the house for hundreds of species, as well as planetary-warming carbon dioxide.

Dr. “Some of them are adapted to the typical Mediterranean warm temperatures, but in fact they cannot often face sea heatwave conditions, which are more extreme and wider,” said Cebrian. Cebrian said.

The heat can also cause that ecosysters say “sub-fatal effects”, where species essentially go into survival mode and do not breed.

“If we start looking at ecological effects, then there will be almost certainty on human societies. [including] Disadvantages of fisheries, “Senior Research fellow Dan Smel warned at Marine Biological Association in Plymouth.

“We have to wait and see, in fact, but because the temperature is so much so much in summer, it is really worrying.”

Rapid warming med “is a canary in the coal mine for climate change and maritime ecosystems,” he said.

Excessive sea heat can also supercharges the extreme weather.

Warm seas mean additional evaporation, adding moisture to the atmosphere which can promote excessive rainfall.

If other conditions are correct, it can cause disastrous floods, as it happened Libya in 2023 And Valencia in 2024,

And warm water can reduce the cooling effect that the coastal population usually attains marine air.

Dr. Marcos warned that if there is another heat in summer later, it can make things very uncomfortable.

“I’m sure it’s going to be terrible.”