While practically the whole of Spain is drowning in excess heat, the sea seems like a more than desirable climatic refuge. However, the Spanish coasts are not being left out of this escalation. The marine waters are also experiencing a rise in their temperatures and are, so to speak, less refreshing than would be expected.
“Yes, the temperatures of the sea surface are warmer than they should be,” confirms Marta Almarcha, a meteorologist at eltiempo.es. It may be that in some areas of the Spanish coast the escalation is more notable, but “all our coasts, today, are warmer than usual.”
On the Cantabrian coast, for example, the temperature is far from what is expected and its waters have been warming up “since May and June”, as Rubén del Campo, AEMET spokesman, explains. In some cases, Almarcha points out, on the Spanish coasts surface temperatures of 3 and 4 degrees are being recorded above what would be normal. In the Mediterranean, at the end of last week, according to the figures shared by Del Campo, there were already areas between 4 and 5 degrees above what was expected.
Although the Galician coasts in general were not being so affected, as indicated by the Aemet meteorologist, the satellite data from some points on the A Coruña coast, Almarcha contributes, have also reached 3 degrees more. In the Canary Islands, another Atlantic point, in most of the islands, the expert points out, the anomaly is above 2 degrees.
“The temperatures of the sea are connected with those of the atmosphere”
Martha Almarcha
Meteorologist at eltiempo.es
The reasons for this escalation include a mix of factors. Heat waves make the water warm, the absence of winds prevents it from cooling down and, as Del Campo recalls, “there is a long-term trend, in which the sea is also warming up.” “Sea temperatures are connected to those of the atmosphere,” says Almarcha, “we know that the oceans absorb about 93% of the excess energy trapped in the atmosphere.” If it’s hot outside, it’s hot inside too.
Even so, and as much as the heat waves we are experiencing have an impact, the reasons for the problem go much further. The rise in sea temperatures “does not occur only during heat waves,” explains the meteorologist, because “we have been with temperatures above normal for months” which in turn have an echo in the oceans. And, although the Spanish coasts are the closest to us —and, therefore, most present—, marine warming is taking place globally. This is, in fact, leading to world temperature records being set in seawater. “It’s never been so hot,” Del Campo explains, “and therein lies the hand of climate change.” The seas, experts warn, are becoming “tropical”.
A blow to biodiversity
This situation creates a difficult context for marine habitats. “The temperature changes in the sea are very strange,” explains David Nácher, a biologist and scientific disseminator at the Oceanogràfic Foundation. If the beings that live outside the sea are capable of adapting to changes in temperatures, the same is not the case for those that do so in marine ecosystems. That is, they are not able to regulate themselves to face an oscillation.
In the sea, the usual thing is that the temperature remains constant. That this does not happen is a shock to the system. “It is as if you are at 20 degrees and suddenly they take you to the middle of the Sahara desert, and with your jacket on,” says the biologist.
“The temperature changes in the sea are very strange”
David Nacher
Biologist and scientific disseminator of the Oceanogràfic Foundation
Obviously, such a dramatic change has consequences. As Nácher exemplifies, for a tuna two or three degrees of variation in temperatures forces a change of water. This new context could lead to the disappearance of some species —a natural problem but also an economic one, because it affects fishing grounds or aquaculture— and put those that cannot move, such as starfish, in a difficult situation. “The change in temperatures alters the ecosystem in general, without knowing what the consequences will be,” says the expert. “Biodiversity is greatly affected,” he concludes.
And the how is already something that we have seen in other summers. “High temperatures affect the productivity and distribution of marine organisms, from the largest to the microscopic ones,” says Almarcha. “One of the examples that we all have in mind is the proliferation of jellyfish on our beaches, which increases in many cases in summer when temperatures rise,” she points out.
In addition, as Nácher recalls, “temperature does not only affect organisms.” The oceans are connected and disturbances can cause ripple effects. Likewise, these large bodies of water are key to the planet’s own temperature. “It is the whiting that bites its tail,” he sums up. If temperatures escalate and the seas warm up, the oceans will not help regulate them. The seas are paying the price of climate change, and with that price, their abilities to help fight its effects are weighed down.
The consequences will not be noticed only on the beach. “Whether it rains less or more in Madrid or whether it is less or more hot in Extremadura depends on the oceans,” says Nácher.
Torrential rains
In fact, it is perhaps in the weather forecast where citizens can see in a more tangible way the direct effect that these high sea temperatures have on daily life. Both Del Campo and Almarcha highlight the effect they already have on night temperatures in coastal areas, where they have gone from ‘it cools down at night’ to record high heat that prevents them from sleeping well. Sea breezes, Del Campo warns, are getting weaker. Thus, the population is losing thermal comfort.
«Whether it rains less or more in Madrid or whether it is less or more hot in Extremadura depends on the oceans»
David Nacher
Biologist and scientific disseminator of the Oceanogràfic Foundation
It is not the only possible consequence. “The effects can be very varied: the higher the surface temperature, the more moisture the oceans can contribute to the atmosphere and act as “gasoline” for storms, making them more intense,” says Almarcha. This means, in short, that “they add intensity and extremeness to torrential rains”, as Del Campo explains.
Can this also mean that Spain will suddenly face phenomena such as cyclones and hurricanes, typical of tropical waters? “It can, yes, but it is speculating,” replies the Aemet spokesman. The cyclones, recalls Del Campo, already have their routes made, although what this escalation of marine temperatures can achieve is that if they deviate they “resist” more and reach Europe with “almost tropical conditions.” It is not something so remote: it has already happened. Ophelia in 2017 with its strong winds—winds that exacerbated the wildfires—was one of them.
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