Record temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea due to global warming

The Mediterranean Sea is warming at an alarming rate, with some areas experiencing temperatures up to four times faster than the global average, according to oceanographer Manuel Vargas.

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The Mediterranean in some points triples, even quadruples, the speed at which the temperature is increasing in other parts of the planet.

Vargas, an investigator at Spain's Institute of Oceanography and Marine Sciences (IEO-CSIC), noted that initial projections from the 1980s and 90s about the Mediterranean becoming a tropical sea now appear to be a reality. This summer, a buoy off the coast of Mallorca recorded a historic high of 33.02°C, while buoys off Málaga registered 28°C. "These are record figures, temperatures unthinkable thirty years ago," Vargas stated, emphasizing that new records are being broken each year.

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These are record figures, temperatures unthinkable thirty years ago.

Scientists quantify that 90% of the excess energy trapped by global warming is absorbed by the oceans. Vargas explained that while the current year has seen intense heatwaves in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the latter's warming speed is exceptional. He added that while the relationship between marine warming and phenomena like El Niño is complex and subject to ongoing research, the human cause of global warming and subsequent ocean heating is undeniable.

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What is happening now is beyond natural cycles.

"What is happening now is beyond natural cycles," Vargas asserted, pointing to the correlation between documented carbon dioxide emissions and atmospheric increases, and their measured effect on temperatures. He concluded that the observed warming aligns precisely with scientific predictions, driven by human activity rather than natural climate fluctuations.

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There is a concordance with what we are observing.