After weeks of concern, the Mediterranean is very close to normal. The heat wave threatens to throw everything into the fret

Something has changed sharply in the Mediterranean Sea: its temperature. If a few weeks ago the sea that unites Europe, Africa and Asia burning, now the surface temperature of the sea has plummeted to almost normal values, only slightly above what we could expect during these summer dates

A few tenth. The latest data on the surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea have given us good news in the form of stabilization. According to the data Of the coastal observation and prediction system of the Balearic Islands (Socib), as of August 7, the Mediterranean surface is, on average, at 26.03º Celsius.

This implies an anomaly was 0.54º Celsius, that is, the sea is more than half a hot than what would correspond at this time. As a contrast, in the middle of June We reported that this anomaly was 2.26º.

East to the west. The sea temperature has decreased on average, but has also changed in its distribution. A few weeks ago the focus of the heat was in the Western Mediterranean, while to the east the temperatures were warm but more moderate. Now it happens just the other way around.

According to the Socib datathe average west temperature of the Mediterranean is 25.01º, which implies a thermal anomaly of 0.29º. Meanwhile, the eastern side is at 27.06º, 0.81º more than what would be normal in that area and on these dates.

A very diverse sea. The data allow us to analyze the change in different regions and, perhaps the area where this change is most palpable, the Northwest Mediterranean. Here, at the beginning of July the thermal anomaly was around four degrees. Now is the most “normal” area of the sea, with a positive anomaly of only 0.17º.

Another of the spotlights a few weeks ago was in the surroundings of the Balearic Islands, especially in the waters of the National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago. In these areas, thermal anomaly on June 12 was 3rd and 3.18º respectively. Now, the environment of the Balearic archipelago is only 0.36º above the average, while the waters of the Cabrera archipelago have an anomaly of 0.35º.

What happened? June was an extremely warm month in Spain, but it was also hotter than normal in other areas. The absence of section of section and high insolation made the Mediterranean a boiling pot, but the month of July was different. The arrival of a time less torrid in a month of July in which the storms took the prominence in the Mediterranean basin changed this.

“Thanks to the dynamics of atmospheric circulation in recent weeks, with the passage of different troughs, the surface waters of the Mediterranean already draw a panorama with a more normal spatial variability,” explained on social networks The physicist, disseminator and researcher at Aemet JJ German.

Without throwing the bells on the flight. The descent of temperatures is great news: a Mediterranean too warm increases the risk of storms and copious rainfall like the ones we see in Danas and in episodes of “cold drop”. The question now is to know if this stabilization will be lasting or if we will see a new thermal rebound in marine waters.

August has started with a heat wave in Spain with reach beyond the peninsula. June’s thermal rest has ended and we do not know how this change to the waters of the Mediterranean will affect. The issue is relevant due to the environmental and meteorological problems that this overheating would imply.

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Image | Valentin Perret / ECMWF