Summer is definitely here, complete with holidays and warm seas. We take a look at current sea surface temperatures around the coasts of Europe.
Sea surface temperatures have been rising quite rapidly, and sea surface temperature anomalies are positive (and locally quite large) across most of the sea and ocean surrounding Europe. In particular, the Mediterranean is very warm and parts of it are several degrees warmer then the long term average.
Maps
CNTRL-E Mediterranean, Black Sea and Baltic Sea surface temperature and temperature anomaly (compared to 1981-2010 average for this date). Map: WeatherBell
W-CNTRL Mediterranean sea and E Atlantic Ocean surface temperature and temperature anomaly (compared to 1981-2005 average for this date). Map: surf-forecast.com
The Mediterranean Sea: is currently already very warm, with surface temperatures generally in the 23-26 °C range. While this may seem just right, it is actually too warm for this period, compared to the long-term average temperatures. In fact, the northern Mediterranean is up to 3-4 °C warmer than the long-term average, most of the remaining parts of the Mediterranean are 1-2 °C warmer. Only the central Mediterranean is only slightly warmer than the long-term average.
- Ionian Sea: is mostly around 22-24 °C, while locally along the coast of Greece the water is even warmer – Crofu is at 25 °C currently.
- Aegean Sea: is mostly around 24 °C in the southern Aegean (along the coast of Crete, Rhodes island, …) and a degree or two cooler in the central and northern parts.
- Ligurian Sea: the Italian coast of the Ligurian sea is very warm at around 25 °C sea surface temperature today.
- Tyrrhenian Sea: the Italian coast of the Tyyrhenian sea is also very warm at around 24-25 °C SST today.
- Adriatic Sea: in the northern Adriatic sea surface temperatures are in the 25-27 °C range already. Most of the central and southern Adriatic is somewhat cooler at 22-24 °C.
Adriatic sea surface temperature and temperature anomaly map. Map: http://oceanlab.cmcc.it.
- W Mediterranean and the Alboran sea: are very warm with 24-26 °C temperature.
- Eastern Mediterranean: is very warm with temperatures around 25 °C along the coast of Cyprus and 25-26 °C along the S coast of Turkey.
As far as sea surface temperatures are concerned – if you booked your holidays in the Mediterranean, you booked right!
The Black Sea: is also warmer than average, with SST around 20-22 °C, except for the coast of Russia and Georgia, where temperatures are slightly higher, up to 23 °C.
The Baltic Sea: is not particularly fun for swimming right now, unless this is your thing, with sea surface temperature 11-14 °C.
The North Sea: is also not particularly warm, the least cold part being the coast of Belgium, Netherlands and NW Germany at about 15-16 °C.
The Atlantic ocean (coast of W Europe): not particularly warm along the coast of the Atlantic from NW France to Gibraltar, locally temperatures reach 20 °C in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay and along the S coast of Portugal. Bay of Cadiz is warmer at about 20-22 °C.