Mediterranean Sea is heating up: The hotspot of climate change

The warm temperatures on the Mediterranean – a reason for many to go south. But the Mediterranean is heating up more and more. This can not only cause storms, but change life in the sea as a whole.

The Mediterranean is currently up to 30 degrees warm around the Balearic Islands and west of Sardinia. That will have stormy consequences, say meteorologists. In many places, the Mediterranean will reach Caribbean temperatures this summer. It’s three to six degrees too warm.

In these tropical conditions, the risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms increases. “And severe in this case means severe weather with everything that goes with it – floods, mudslides, storms with falling trees,” says Silke Hansen, head of the ARD weather competence center.

A kind of hurricane in the Mediterranean Sea

In the fall one has to reckon with “Medicanen”, a kind of hurricane in the Mediterranean. The current water temperature makes formation easier. In order for a “Medicane” to develop, there needs to be a temperature difference between cold air at high altitude and high water temperatures. Since the sea is extremely warm, the signs point to a storm.

The amounts of rain in such storms are enormous. “It’s threatening. I once experienced a ‘Medicane’ in Corsica. In 24 hours, more than 400 liters per square meter fell. That falls in Frankfurt am Main in eight months,” says Silke Hansen.

Storms in France and Italy

Already in these days there should be storms in the Mediterranean. There will be very heavy showers and thunderstorms in southern and south-eastern France and northern Italy. More than 100 liters of rain can fall locally.

The warm Mediterranean has a large part in it, according to the weather competence center ARD. Because of the high temperatures, more water evaporates. And the more water vapor there is in the air, the more energy is available for showers and thunderstorms – that is, the more violent they can become.

But that’s not the only problem brought on by the high water temperatures. Life in the sea is changing. “Species that are used to lower water temperatures are dying out or being displaced,” says marine biologist Inna Sokolova from the University of Rostock. A water temperature increased by six degrees, “that’s really, really much”.

Tropical sea urchins are spreading

Parts of the Aegean are currently being conquered by sea urchins, which are actually at home in the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean. Tropical fish species are also spreading.

All of this will have an impact on complex food chains. Whether on land or in the water: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes the Mediterranean region as a “climate change hotspot”.