Sea surface temperatures, which are usually high this time of year, are even hotter than normal as the Mediterranean Sea undergoes a prolonged marine heatwave.
If you feel like you’re swimming in bathwater at the beach, there’s nothing wrong with your internal thermostat.
Summer has officially arrived, but sea surface temperatures are unusually elevated due to an ongoing marine heatwave affecting the Mediterranean.
This phenomenon is persisting, with the most intense warming observed along the Spanish and French coasts, according to satellite data collected by Copernicus.
A visual released by Copernicus shows sea surface temperatures across the Mediterranean and highlights the anomalies recorded on June 22, 2025.
Dark red areas indicate temperatures more than 5°C above the seasonal average. The most intense warming has been observed in the western Mediterranean basin, particularly in the Balearic Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The visualization is based on data from the Copernicus Marine Service. Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the EU’s space program.
Meanwhile, according to Mercator Ocean International, an ocean monitoring service, the marine heatwave in the Mediterranean is intensifying “in both extent and intensity.” The organization has reported the emergence of “severe categories” off the southeastern coast of Spain.
