Mediterranean Sea hits report 30C as European marine heatwave places species in danger | EUROtoday

Mediterranean Sea temperatures surged in a marine heatwave final month, placing some species beneath risk as Europe swelters beneath record-setting and lethal sizzling climate.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service mentioned sea floor temperatures on 22 June have been greater than 5C above the seasonal common. Waters off Spain hit a report 30C on Tuesday, based on Spanish forecaster Aemet.

It comes after the summit of Mont Blanc, western Europe’s highest mountain, remained above freezing for a complete day for the primary time in historical past – one other trace on the tempo of local weather change.

Italy restricted out of doors work, France closed colleges and Turkey battled wildfires on Tuesday in a heatwave that meteorologists mentioned was “exceptional” for arriving so early in summer season.

Spain confirmed its hottest June on report, whereas temperatures handed 40C in a few of its cities on Tuesday.

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Europe is thought to be heating up at twice the worldwide common pace and is the world’s fastest-warming continent, based on Copernicus.

“What is exceptional … but not unprecedented, is the time of year,” mentioned World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis.

Europe is experiencing excessive warmth “which normally we would see later on in the summer”, she mentioned.

Some international locations issued well being alerts and commerce unions attributed the loss of life of a building employee close to Bologna on Monday to the warmth.

Outdoor work was banned in some Italian areas throughout the hottest hours of the day as Italy issued heatwave crimson alerts for 17 cities, together with Milan and Rome.

Power outages, most likely induced or aggravated by spiking electrical energy consumption from air conditioners, have been reported in central Florence and within the northern metropolis of Bergamo. In Sicily, a lady with a coronary heart situation reportedly died whereas strolling in Bagheria, information companies reported.

In Barcelona, authorities have been wanting into whether or not the loss of life of a avenue sweeper on the weekend was warmth associated. The Red Cross arrange an air-conditioned “climate refuge” for residents in Malaga.

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Extreme warmth can kill by inflicting warmth stroke, or aggravating cardiovascular and respiratory ailments, with older individuals being among the many most susceptible.

Turkey continued to battle the wildfires that pressured the momentary evacuation of round 50,000 residents in areas surrounding Izmir earlier this week.

In France, almost 1,900 colleges have been closed.

In Spain, the typical temperature was 23.6C final month. Copernicus mentioned June most likely ranks among the many 5 warmest within the nation’s historical past. England had its hottest June since not less than 1884, the Met Office mentioned.

A Paris-Milan rail service was disrupted due to a mudslide on the French facet of the Alps, with full service not anticipated to be totally restored till mid-July.

The high flooring of the Eiffel Tower was closed, disappointing scores of tourists.

“I tried to get all organised before our departure and the result is nonsense,” mentioned Laia Pons, 42, a instructor from Barcelona who booked Eiffel tickets for her household three years in the past.

The scorching temperatures have raised the chance of discipline fires as farmers in France, the European Union’s greatest grain producer, begin harvesting this 12 months’s crop, with many working via the evening to keep away from peak afternoon temperatures.

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In the Mediterranean, probably the most intense warming throughout June’s “marine heatwave” was within the western space together with the Balearic Sea, off Spain, and the Tyrrhenian Sea, off western Italy.

“We have seen temperatures we were expecting in the middle of August being recorded in June and … this is why it is considered a record year for temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea,” Christos Spyrou, affiliate researcher on the Academy of Athens analysis centre for atmospheric physics, mentioned.

He mentioned that the typical sea temperatures in June have been 3C to 6C increased than the typical between 1982-2023, which was used as a reference interval.

“We expected these sea temperatures in August,” Spyrou mentioned. “Some species will not be able to reproduce or survive in these conditions, especially in increasing temperatures.”

Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report