Ocean heat waves threaten to supercharge storm season in Europe
Parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the European Atlantic coast have recorded surface temperatures that were more than 6 degrees Celsius hotter than normal for the month of June.
Intense ocean heat waves are threatening to intensify storm seasons in Europe, according to recent research. The Mediterranean Sea is heating up at twice the rate of other global oceans, according to World Weather Attribution, a team of scientists who use peer-reviewed methods to study the impact of climate change on weather patterns.
Surface temperatures in parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the European Atlantic coast reached more than 6 degrees Celsius above normal in June, according to Catherine Gregory, a researcher at the University of Bern and a co-author of the report. She explained that warm sea surface temperatures provide added energy to storms, allowing them to persist for longer periods.
Human-caused global warming was found to be the primary driver of record-high sea temperatures around the Iberian Peninsula and in the western and eastern Mediterranean in July. Europe, the world's fastest-warming continent, is grappling with the effects of relentless heat waves, which have already claimed an estimated 25,000 lives this summer.
These heat waves have put pressure on the economy, affecting commodity supplies, critical infrastructure, and energy security. Friederike Otto, a scientist at Imperial College London and a co-author of the report, noted that the prolonged heat dome over Western Europe is contributing to both land and ocean heat waves, creating a feedback loop.
Hot seas hold temperatures for longer periods, increasing humidity in coastal areas and hindering cooling, particularly at night. This humidity can be deadly during land heat waves, as seen in Southeast Asia and India, and now in Southern Europe. Comparing sea temperatures from the last two weeks of July to historical averages and previous marine heat waves, researchers found that the Bay of Biscay and the western Iberian Peninsula have warmed by 1.5°C, while the eastern Mediterranean has increased by 2.6°C and the western Mediterranean by 3.1°C.
If warming continues at its current rate, extreme marine heat waves observed this summer are projected to be 1.3°C to 1.9°C hotter by the end of the century. European summers are experiencing more extreme marine heat waves, with warming starting earlier and lasting longer, according to the report.
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