As illustrated by this infographic and covered in detail in Statista's new report 'State of the Mediterranean Sea', similar to trends observed all over the world, the surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea is displaying a worrying upward trend.
2023 saw the hottest year ever recorded for the Mediterranean, when the annual anomaly surpassed 0.5 degrees Celsius above the average temperature observed between 1991 and 2020. As stated in the report, "it is expected that 2024 will also follow this trend", a hypothesis based in part on August 15, 2024, when the Mediterranean reported its hottest day since records began.
According to the report's authors: "Although regular changes in ocean temperature are linked to natural climate patterns, climate change is driving the current boost", adding the warning that although oceans have a high heat capacity, "this causes a series of cascading effects, such as sea level rise and ocean acidification - topics which are also covered in detail in the report.
