New record June high for Mediterranean Sea
At present, sea surface temperatures in the Mediterranean are 3°C higher than average for the same period compared to 1991-2020, with spikes exceeding 4°C around the French and Spanish coasts, he added. "Given the week we're going to have in terms of weather conditions, unfortunately it's not going to get any cooler," Guinaldo said.
It comes as Europe swelters through summer's first major heatwave, with Spain and Portugal setting new temperature highs on Monday as France, Italy and Britain also sizzled. The oceans are a vital regulator of Earth's climate, absorbing some 90% of the excess heat in the atmosphere caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels.
The Mediterranean region is warming faster than the global average and scientists say that climate change is making marine heatwaves more frequent and powerful. Since 2023, there have been consistent waves of abnormally high temperatures. The Mediterranean hit a new all-time high temperature of 28.4°C in August 2024, blitzing the previous record set in July 2023.
The basin is also cooling much more slowly during the winter months: Every year since 2023 has experienced well above average temperatures between October and April, said Guinaldo. This has prolonged extreme conditions year round that harm sea life, reduce fish stocks and whip-up stronger storms that make landfall with devastating consequences. A 2022 study found that marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean between 2015 and 2019 caused widespread death in around 50 underwater species including corals, sea urchins and mollusks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Euronews
How could the bird flu strain raising alarm in the US enter Europe?
A strain of bird flu that has jumped from animals to people in the United States could find its way to Europe, EU scientists have warned in a new report. EU-US trade of 'raw milk' products and wild bird movement appear to be the biggest risks, according to the analysis from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Avian influenza has been spreading at higher levels worldwide over the past five years, including in wild birds and poultry farms in Europe. The virus has occasionally jumped from birds into mammals, including foxes, mink, and cats. European officials are also concerned about an H5N1 bird flu outbreak among US dairy cows that spilled to people last year, infecting 70 and killing one. There is no evidence of person-to-person transmission, and the US strain has not been detected in the EU. But health experts fear that left unchecked, the virus could evolve to the point where it spreads more easily between people, raising the risk of a broader outbreak. 'Avian influenza viruses pose an increasing threat, with the potential to adapt to humans and trigger future pandemics,' Andrea Gervelmeyer, a scientific officer with EFSA's animal health team, told Euronews Health. That, Gervelmeyer added, is a 'major concern for global health'. For the new report, EFSA analysed all the possible ways the US bird flu strain could make its way into the EU. One risk is that as wild birds migrate in the coming months, they could bring H5N1 with them. The virus might be detected first in key European stopovers such as Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, western parts of Scandinavia, and major wetlands on the coasts of Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. EFSA scientists also scrutinised trade between the EU and US. Imports of 'raw' milk, cheese, or other dairy products pose a 'potential risk for virus introduction into the EU,' they said. Raw milk products may be properly labelled or pasteurised, a process that kills bacteria and viruses such as avian influenza. That means dairy exports from parts of the US hit hard by the outbreak could be riskier. Since 2023, the EU has imported 889 tonnes of milk and cream and 10 tonnes of fresh cheese from the US that 'may not have undergone sufficient thermal treatment' to kill the virus, EFSA said. The EU also imports about 20,000 tonnes of beef from the US every year. But strict trade rules and limited presence of the virus in meat mean that while it is theoretically possible the bird flu strain could enter Europe that way, it's not likely, EFSA said. Scientists also do not believe that US exports of chicken, poultry, or bull semen – of which the EU has imported nearly 85,000 kilograms since 2023 – are likely to cause bird flu outbreaks in Europe. However, there is still some 'uncertainty' around data from the US, the agency said, and it will keep monitoring bird flu threats and issue recommendations to keep the US strain from entering the EU. For now, Gervelmeyer said the risk assessment should help to boost 'preparedness measures to protect public health in Europe'.
Euronews
10 hours ago
- Euronews
Is honey beekeeping doing more harm than good for other pollinators?
One third of pollinator species, such as bees, butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds, are in decline in many parts of the world. In Europe, one out of ten bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction. Without pollination (which is crucial for plant reproduction), many plant species would decline and eventually disappear, putting food security at risk. Almonds, apples, coffee, and strawberries are some of the foods that depend on the essential pollination work carried out by bees. Honeybees are often called 'managed pollinators' because they can be domesticated by humans. However, most pollinators are wild, or 'non-managed', including more than 20,000 different species of bees, species of flies, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, thrips, birds, bats, and other vertebrates. But as wild bee and butterfly populations shrink, the number of honeybee hives in the European Union has been steadily growing, making the EU the world's second-largest honey producer after China. Animal pollination contributes an estimated €5 billion to the EU's agricultural output per year. Why are wild pollinators in decline? Land use change, intensive agriculture, pesticides, pollution, invasive species, infectious diseases, and climate change are the main threats to pollinators, according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. However, a 2023 study in Canada linked urban beekeeping to reduced pollen availability and fewer wild bee species. 'When there is an abundance of honeybees in the neighbourhood, wild pollinators have some serious competition', said Mario Vallejo-Marin, professor in Ecological Botany at Uppsala University. That happens 'because wild bees are quite picky, they do not go to any flower, they go to the flowers they are adapted to, and different species will visit different flowers', explained Ignasi Bartomeus, researcher at the Doñana Biological Station. Are honey beekeepers saving the wrong bees? 'Honeybees clearly face a lot of threats, such as pesticides and pathogens', Bartomeus told Euronews. However, 'the number of honeybee hives in Europe is generally stable, and in Spain, for example, it is increasing,' he added. That is why, for many ecologists, honey beekeeping is not bee conservation. Instead, it can be counterproductive. Astudy published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in 2024 found that losing wild pollinators is more harmful to plant reproduction than losing honeybees. Ainhoa Magrach, Ikerbasque research professor at the Basque Centre for Climate Change, added: "85% of wild plant species and 70% of the crops we consume (including the most nutritious ones) depend on pollinator to set fruit. If we lose these pollinators, we will also lose much of the plant diversity in the world, which in turn are the base of many terrestrial food webs". 'I have even seen some campaigns trying to increase the number of commercial honeybee hives to rescue pollinators. That would be equivalent to saying we need more chicken farms to save bird biodiversity', Bartomeus told Euronews. The negative impact of honey beekeeping is still scientifically debatable and depends on the specific environmental context and floral variety in each region. Raquel Teixeira de Sousa, former honeybee researcher at the Oxford Bee Lab, says beekeeping still is very important: "it is fundamental to keep the livelihoods of small rural communities'. So, how can we save wild pollinators? Watch the video to find out.
Local France
a day ago
- Local France
Michelin-star chef prepares ISS meals for French astronaut
Parsnip and haddock veloute, chicken with tonka beans and creamy polenta, and a chocolate cream with hazelnut cazette flower will also be on the menu, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Wednesday. Food delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) must meet strict specifications. It cannot be crumbly or too heavy and must be able to be stored for two years, the ESA said in a statement. Fresh fruit and vegetables are only available after a new spacecraft arrives from Earth with supplies, so most meals in space are canned, vacuum-packed or freeze-dried from a set of options provided by space agencies. But to spice things up, one out of every 10 meals is prepared for specific crew members according to their personal tastes. 'During a mission, sharing our respective dishes is a way of inviting crewmates to learn more about our culture. It's a very powerful bonding experience,' Adenot said in the statement. Adenot's menu was developed by French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who holds a total of 10 Michelin stars and was named best female chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2011. Advertisement Pic said it was an 'exhilarating challenge' to develop the menu, which includes four starters, two mains and two desserts. Adenot, a 42-year-old former helicopter test pilot, is scheduled to arrive for her first tour aboard the ISS in 2026. A pair of NASA astronauts returned to Earth in March after being unexpectedly stuck on the ISS for more than nine months after problems with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
