The Mediterranean sea is still significantly warmer than average for mid-September. The Black sea too is much warmer than average!
The Mediterranean sea is still well above average: much of the sea is about 1.5-2.5 °C above average. There is a small cool anomaly between the Balearic Islands and central part of the coast of Algeria, where temperatures are about 1 °C below average. The warmest parts of the Mediterranean are in the extreme north: the coast of southeastern France and northwestern Italy are up to 3-3.5 °C above average, and the entire Adriatic is 2-3.5 °C above average! In absolute terms, the warmest part of the Mediterranean is in the south and east: temperatures are generally above 27-28 °C and up to 29-30 °C there. Most of the Mediterranean is warmer than 25 °C right now.
Mediterranean sea surface temperature anomaly on September 18, comparing current temperatures with 1982-2012 average. Data: CNR MED. Map by our co-admin Andrej Flis.
Mediterranean sea surface temperature on September 18. Data: CNR MED. Map by our co-admin Andrej Flis.
The Black sea also continues well above average: the eastern part is around 25-26 °C, while most of the sea is around 22-23 °C. These are very unusually high temperatures! Parts of the Black sea are over 4 °C warmer than average, while virtually all of it is over 2 °C warmer than average.