Warmed European Seas Exceed Temperature Thresholds: Is It Overheating?
In 2024, the Mediterranean Sea reached a record-breaking surface temperature of 28.7°C, causing a prolonged marine heatwave and leading to significant socio-economic consequences across Europe.
The heatwave, characterized by unusually warm sea temperatures, disrupted marine ecosystems, damaged fisheries and aquaculture, and worsened marine heatwave-related extreme weather events.
The warm Mediterranean waters played a key role in shaping weather patterns, contributing to more intense storms and heavy rainfall. Notably, the warm Mediterranean and Black Sea waters in 2024 may have amplified the severity of Storm Boris, which brought severe flooding to central and eastern Europe in September and to Spain’s Valencia region in October.
The extreme heatwave also amplified terrestrial climate stress across southern Europe. Southern European countries faced oppressive temperatures above 40°C, dry conditions, and widespread wildfires that caused evacuations and damage to agriculture and infrastructure.
The 2024 Mediterranean heatwave triggered a chain of environmental stresses. Marine ecosystems collapsed, fisheries were disrupted, and extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, were amplified. Societal effects from heat-related wildfires and infrastructure strain were also observed in southern Europe.
Europe's seas hit their highest annual average surface temperature on record in 2024, with the Mediterranean Sea reaching a record high of 28.7°C in August. The past three years have been significantly warmer than any previous year on record.
The ongoing trend of rising sea temperatures suggests these socio-economic and environmental pressures are likely to intensify in coming years. The heatwaves are linked to more frequent and severe extreme weather events, such as droughts and wildfires, further straining economic and social systems.
As the Mediterranean Sea continues to warm, it fuels marine heatwaves, leading to "underwater wildfires" that can be linked to more intense storms and extreme rainfall. These events pose a threat to marine life, fisheries, and extreme weather patterns, highlighting the urgent need for action to address climate change and protect our oceans.
- The prolonged marine heatwave in 2024, fueled by the warming Mediterranean Sea, disrupted health-and-wellness aspects like fisheries and aquaculture, and also led to extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, in environmental-science terms.
- The record-breaking surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea in 2024, contributing to climate-change-induced extreme weather events, has highlighted the need for urgent action to protect our oceans and promote health-and-wellness, as well as preventing the fueling of more intense storms and extreme rainfall.
