On Thursday, the average temperature of the surface of the Balearic Sea was 17.8 degrees Celsius, 2.07 degrees above normal for this time of year based on a reference period from 1982 to 2015. It was above the averages of the last three years for April 27.
Data for sea temperatures are captured by the SOCIB Coastal Observation System for the Balearics. As air temperatures are forecast to rise further on Friday and Saturday, SOCIB suggests that the average sea temperature could well exceed 18C. The forecast going into May is for air temperatures to continue to be above normal.
In 2022, there were five marine heat waves between July and December. In August, the highest average surface temperature was recorded - 29.2C. In the case of one buoy, off the island of Dragonera, a temperature of 33.3C was registered; this was another record.
The Fundació Marilles, which is dedicated to marine conservation in the Balearics, has highlighted the potentially serious consequences that increases of this nature can have for marine ecosystems as well as for the economy and human living conditions. Rising sea temperatures are also a cause of the rise in sea level. It has been calculated that this will rise by between 55 and 77 centimetres by the end of the century and by up to 129 centimetres in 2150, which would result in the loss of beaches of between seven and fifty metres.