SEA temperatures off the Costa del Sol have soared to their highest level in more than a decade, scientists warn, as climate change drives unprecedented warming across the Mediterranean.
A buoy in Malaga port recorded an ‘extraordinary’ 28.8C on Tuesday, Spain’s weather agency AEMET said – just 0.3C below the 2015 record of 29.1C and more than 5C above the city’s 23.5C August average.
Sea temperatures have been rising consistently across the Mediterranean for the past four decades, with scientists warning the trend could disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the livelihoods of millions of people living along Spanish and European coasts.
A study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group found that human-caused climate change has already added around 2C of warming to the Mediterranean.
The region’s average sea temperature hit a record 27C last month, making it the hottest July on record, while an offshore buoy near Mallorca recorded a staggering 33C in early August.
Claire Bergin, a co-author of the WWA study, told Reuters: “This has the potential to completely reshape ecosystems that coastal communities rely on for food and income, and drive damaging extreme weather on land too.”
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The study also found that the peak sea temperatures recorded this year in the eastern and western Mediterranean, as well as along the Bay of Biscay and Iberian coast, would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without human-caused climate change.
Along th Costa del Sol, record-breaking or near-record sea temperatures have been recorded consistentlyl in recent years, with Málaga and neighbouring resorts repeatedly experiencing unusually warm waters.
In September 2024, the sea off Fuengirola reached 27C, the highest temperature recorded there in 40 years of daily measurements, according to researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography.
Scientists said temperatures of 23–24C had previously been considered exceptionally warm in the area.
The following summer, the Malaga buoy recorded 27.6C on August 9, 2025, with temperatures reaching 27.4C on two other days that month.
AEMET’s Malaga director said sea temperatures had been at or near record levels during June, when the Malaga buoy reached 25.7C – its highest June temperature since records began in 2001.
Prolonged periods of unusually warm water can put marine ecosystems dangerously under strain, scientists insist.
Warmer seas threaten to alter habitats and drive species away from their traditional ranges, with potentially serious consequences for the people and businesses whose livelihoods depend on healthy coastal ecosystems.
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