Last week’s historic heatwave has not only left its mark on land but the water too. Seas around Europe are currently significantly warmer than usual for this time of year.

In the Mediterranean, water temperatures are usually already between 25 and 27 °C; in the Adriatic, they are even measured at up to 28 °C. In the Aegean and the Black Sea, they are around 25 °C.

The western Baltic Sea is as warm as 25 °C, whilst temperatures along the North Sea coast are in some places well over 20 °C. However, the water is likely to cool noticeably over the coming days, particularly there, as strong winds will mix the warm surface water with colder water from deeper layers.