The Melilla buoy set an absolute record for the Coastal Buoy Network: 30.6ºC on July 19

The water temperature of the Mediterranean Sea exceeds 31ºC this summer and sets several historical records

• On the Cantabrian and Galician coasts, maximums have also been recorded: 23.25ºC in Cabo de Peñas or 22.9ºC in Villano-Sisargas
• Puertos del Estado monitors the temperature and other variables of the sea with its measurement networks made up of 29 buoys, 41 tide gauges, 24 meteorological sensors and 4 High Frequency Radars

11-09-2023 (State Ports Public Body). The temperature of the sea water has once again set records this summer, in some cases exceeding the historical figures recorded in the summer of 2022,  measured by the buoy networks of Puertos del Estado.

The maximum temperature of the sea water in the months of July and August was 31.21ºC, obtained by the Dragonera buoy on August 24 at 3 p.m. This buoy is the one that holds the absolute record of the outdoor network, with the 31.36ºC reached in August 2022.

In the Coastal Network , theclosest to ports and beaches, there has been an absolute record. The Melilla buoy, which has had a temperature sensor since 2010, registered 30.6ºC on July 19 at 5 p.m. local time. This is the highest figure recorded by this network as a whole.

The Barcelona buoy, which has been operational since 2004 as part of this Coastal Network, also recorded its all-time high, 30.5ºC, on 21 August at 3 pm.

As for the Outer Network of Buoys (or deep-water buoys), although there has not been an absolute record in the network as a whole - those 31.36ºC measured by the Dragonera buoy in August 2022 - 5 of its buoys  have set individual records:

In the Mediterranean, the Cabo Begur buoy measured 29.12ºC on August 20 at 3 p.m. local time and the Cabo de Gata buoy measured 28.5ºC on August 26 at 6 p.m. local time.

The Cantabrian and Galician coasts have not escaped the rise in sea temperatures. Cabo de Peñas measured 23.25ºC on August 24 at 5 p.m. local time; Villano-Sisargas reached 22.9ºC twice in August (on the 20th and 23rd) and Cabo Silleiro recorded 21.08ºC on August 23 at 10pm local time.

MEASUREMENT NETWORKS OF STATE PORTS.

Puertos del Estado has an Outer Network of Buoys (or deep water buoys) made up of 15 measurement positions, a Coastal Buoy Network with 12+2 measurement positions, a Network of 41 Tide Gauges along the Spanish Coast, 24 meteorological sensors associated with tide gauges and a network of High Frequency Radars with 4 systems. 3 of them shared with other institutions. All the information is received in real time by Puertos del Estado, which is responsible for its management and distribution of the data (http://portus.puertos.es/Portus_RT/?locale=es)

HOW BUOYS MEASURE WATER TEMPERATURE

The buoys, every hour, measure the water temperature during a time interval between 1 and 10 minutes depending on the type of buoy and on that information an average is calculated that is considered representative in that hour. The water temperature sensor is located at different depths depending on the type of buoy, in those of the Outer Network it is located at 3 meters and in coastal buoys it is at the base of the hull, at a depth of about 1 meter.