Buoy-ling temperatures: A buoy in the Mediterranean recorded highest temperatures in recorded history

The Cabo de Gata buoy acts as a temperature gauge for measuring temperatures of the Andalusian Mediterranean coast.

The buoy, located in Almeria, is part of the external network of Puertos del Estado, and recently measured a record high of 28.61 degrees Celsius in the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The buoy in the Mediterranean Sea recorded a temperature of 28.61 degrees Celsius

On August 21, the buoy recorded this record-high temperature which exceeded all previous temperatures taken since 2001, when records began. 

This is the second consecutive year since records began that the temperature of the Andalusian Mediterranean Coast has exceeded 28 degrees Celsius, and is not the only time to exceed it this year. 

In fact, during the month of August, 2024, temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea along the Andalusian coast have exceeded 28 degrees on four occasions, including on August 12, at 7 pm with a mark of 28.23 degrees Celsius, and on August 23 with a temperature high of 28.27 degrees at 6 pm.

The Mediterranean Sea temperature has increased by 1.01 degrees Celsius

In the last ten years, recording the period between January 2014 and August 2024, the temperature of the Mediterranean has increased by more than one degree Celsius (1.01) and this is reflected by the Puertos del Estado with its records, showing a maximum of 27.6 degrees Celsius in September 2014, compared to 28.61 degrees in 2024.

On the other hand, the Cabo de Gata buoy has detected a progressive increase in the minimum temperatures recorded in recent years. This is reflected in the minimum temperature recorded this year, on February 27, at 8 am, with a mark of 14.57 degrees Celsius in the Mediterranean Sea, compared to the notch obtained in 2023 on February 18, at 11 pm, with 14.22 degrees – an upward difference of 0.35 degrees.

Signs of climate change

According to Rafael Yus, the coordinator of GENA Ecologistas en Accion, the increase in temperatures is “without a doubt” due to climate change.

In statements to Europa Press, Yus explained that the average atmospheric temperature has “increased”, which has affected both the continent and the sea.

While on the continent the increase in temperatures is reflected in heat waves and a lower frequency of rainfall, at sea it is determined by an increase in temperatures, although “not as abrupt as that which occurs on land, since water is a liquid and is also confined,” Yus stressed.

For more local news and events in the Almeria province click here.