Mediterranean Sea Sets New Daily Temperature Record
According to Spanish researchers, the Mediterranean Sea hit its highest recorded temperature on Thursday, surpassing the previous record set in July 2023.
TroibNews 
On Thursday, the Mediterranean Sea's temperature soared to an unprecedented high, surpassing the record set in July 2023, per findings from Spanish scientists.
"The maximum sea surface temperature record was broken in the Mediterranean Sea yesterday... with a daily median of 28.90 degrees Celsius," reported a prime Spanish marine science institution on Friday.
The earlier record was marked on July 24, 2023, when the median temperature reached 28.71 degrees Celsius, according to Justino Martinez, a researcher at Barcelona's Institut de Ciencies del Mar and the Catalan Institute of Research for the Governance of the Sea.
"The maximum temperature on August 15 was attained on the Egyptian coast at El-Arish (31.96 degrees Celsius)," however, Martinez noted that this figure is tentative pending further manual verification.
The 2024 preliminary temperature data originates from satellite observations provided by Europe's Copernicus Observatory, maintaining records since 1982.
Consequently, the Mediterranean has experienced higher temperatures across two consecutive summers than during the notably severe heatwave of 2003, when the temperature on August 23 reached a daily median of 28.25 degrees Celsius, which remained unmatched for two decades.
"What is remarkable is not so much to reach a maximum on a given day, but to observe a long period of high temperatures, even without breaking a record," Martinez commented earlier in the week.
"Since 2022, surface temperatures have been abnormally high for long periods, even in a climate-change environment," he also stated.
The Mediterranean is often identified as a critical focal point of climate change effects.
According to experts, oceans have absorbed approximately 90 percent of the surplus heat resulting from human activities since the industrial revolution began. This ongoing build-up of heat, largely due to emissions from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, is anticipated to significantly affect marine ecosystems, potentially altering the movement and distribution of various marine species and endangering vital fish stocks which are crucial for food security in many regions worldwide.
Additionally, as oceans warm, their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide diminishes, which could exacerbate the global warming cycle.
(Cover image courtesy of CFP)
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
"The maximum sea surface temperature record was broken in the Mediterranean Sea yesterday... with a daily median of 28.90 degrees Celsius," reported a prime Spanish marine science institution on Friday.
The earlier record was marked on July 24, 2023, when the median temperature reached 28.71 degrees Celsius, according to Justino Martinez, a researcher at Barcelona's Institut de Ciencies del Mar and the Catalan Institute of Research for the Governance of the Sea.
"The maximum temperature on August 15 was attained on the Egyptian coast at El-Arish (31.96 degrees Celsius)," however, Martinez noted that this figure is tentative pending further manual verification.
The 2024 preliminary temperature data originates from satellite observations provided by Europe's Copernicus Observatory, maintaining records since 1982.
Consequently, the Mediterranean has experienced higher temperatures across two consecutive summers than during the notably severe heatwave of 2003, when the temperature on August 23 reached a daily median of 28.25 degrees Celsius, which remained unmatched for two decades.
"What is remarkable is not so much to reach a maximum on a given day, but to observe a long period of high temperatures, even without breaking a record," Martinez commented earlier in the week.
"Since 2022, surface temperatures have been abnormally high for long periods, even in a climate-change environment," he also stated.
The Mediterranean is often identified as a critical focal point of climate change effects.
According to experts, oceans have absorbed approximately 90 percent of the surplus heat resulting from human activities since the industrial revolution began. This ongoing build-up of heat, largely due to emissions from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, is anticipated to significantly affect marine ecosystems, potentially altering the movement and distribution of various marine species and endangering vital fish stocks which are crucial for food security in many regions worldwide.
Additionally, as oceans warm, their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide diminishes, which could exacerbate the global warming cycle.
(Cover image courtesy of CFP)
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
