New record in water temperature in the Mediterranean

The buoys at Dragonera (Balearic Islands) and Valencia recorded historical highs in June.

July 29, 2022 (Public Body Ports of the State). In the face of the persistent extreme heat affecting Europe this summer, the water temperature records in the buoys anchored in the Mediterranean Sea by Ports of the State have been examined to check if it is impacting the measurements.

Thus, it has been confirmed that one of the buoys in the Ports of the State External Network, the Cabo de Gata buoy, has set the absolute record for water temperature measurement since 2001. It occurred last Monday, July 25, 2022, at 5:00 PM GMT, and the recorded temperature was 27.93°C.

Two other buoys in this network have recorded this year's monthly maximum for June. One of them was the Dragonera buoy, with data since 2009, which recorded 29.46°C on June 18, 2022, at 2:00 PM GMT. Its absolute maximum occurred on July 31, 2018, at 3:00 PM GMT, with 31.27°C. The other buoy was Valencia, with water temperature data since 2005, which measured 26.9°C on June 20, 2022, at 3:00 PM GMT. Its absolute record, 28.65°C, was registered on August 7, 2015, at 3:00 PM GMT.

These three buoys belong to the Ports of the State External Network and measure water temperature with a sensor located three meters deep.

In addition, one of the buoys in the Ports of the State Coastal Network, the Tarragona buoy, with temperature data since 2013, has recorded this year's monthly maximums for May and June. On May 22, 2022, at 4:00 PM GMT, it recorded 24.1°C, and on June 17, 2022, at 3:00 PM GMT, it measured 27.8°C. The absolute record for this buoy was obtained on July 17, 2013, and was 30.5°C. Buoys in this network have the water temperature sensor at a depth of 0.5 meters.

No records have been set in the measurements for the other buoys anchored in the Mediterranean.

The extreme heat is persisting, and there are several weeks of summer left, so a study will be conducted later to assess its impact during the entire summer.

PORTS OF THE STATE MEASUREMENT NETWORKS

Ports of the State has an External Buoy Network (or deep-water buoys) consisting of 15 measurement positions, a Coastal Buoy Network with 10 measurement positions, a network of 36 Tide Gauges along the entire Spanish coast, and a High-Frequency Radar network with 9 operational stations. All information is received in real-time at Ports of the State, which is responsible for its management."