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Beachgoers hoping for a refreshing dip are sadly out of luck as the Mediterranean off the Murcia coast is already recording water temperatures of 27°C in early July, with scientists warning that the sea is running well above normal for the second year in a row.

 

The reading, picked up by the State Ports buoy off Cabo de Palos, is more typical of August than the start of summer.

 

Half the Mediterranean is currently experiencing a significant marine heatwave, with temperatures running 4.3°C above average. The western section, which washes the Spanish coast, ended June at above 26°C, around three degrees warmer than usual.

 

According to the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies, last month was the second warmest June on land in recorded history, with knock-on effects for coastal waters.

 

Javier Martí, a researcher at the Climatology Laboratory of the University of Alicante, said that the situation closely mirrors the summer of 2025.

 

"We are experiencing a situation similar to last year, when we had the warmest June in history in Spain," he explained, adding that the all-time Mediterranean temperature record of 27.69°C set then may not have been broken this time around simply because temperatures haven't quite reached the same peak yet.

 

Martí points to rising nighttime minimum temperatures as a key driver, part of a broader pattern in which summer is progressively eating into spring and autumn.

 

"Last September, we had temperatures above 26°C in Cabo de Palos, when the sea is usually one or two degrees cooler for that time of year," he said.

 

In 2025, parts of the Mediterranean recorded water temperatures up to 6.5°C above the long-term average, with 190 days of marine heatwaves logged across the year. Satellite data from the Copernicus programme shows a warming rate of around 0.4°C per decade since 1982.

 

Martí also warned that a warmer Mediterranean is beginning to attract species from warmer waters.

 

"We are going to have problems with pests, with the intrusion of animals that shouldn't be here and that come from warmer environments," he said, noting that fish and shark species from the Red Sea are already slipping into the eastern basin.

 

With no significant atmospheric disturbance forecast for the coming days, temperatures off the Murcia coast are expected to keep climbing.

 

"It doesn't look like it's going to let up," the expert concluded.

 

Image: Turismo Region de Murcia