Sea temperatures one degree cooler than last summer, but 8th hottest of last 40 years
Surface of water off Catalan coast saw average temperature of 24.6º in June, July and August
The average temperature of the surface of the sea this summer has been 24.6º, almost a degree cooler than last year in the same period (25.5º).
It is the second summer in a row that temperatures have fallen after the records seen in 2022.
Despite the comparative drop in sea temperature compared to the last two summers, the average recorded this year is the 8th warmest of the last 40 years, and is 0.9º above the average for this entire period.
According to the records of the Catalan Research Institute for Sea Governance (Icatmar), the average water temperature off the Catalan coast was 21.7º in June, 24.5º in July, and 27.1º in August.
The biggest swing this year compared to last summer was seen in June and July (-1.4º), while August came much closer to 2023 values.
In 2022, record high water temperatures were seen off the coast, with an average of 25.9º for the months of June, July, and August.
The ten summers with the warmest sea temperatures of the past four decades are all from the 21st century and, with the exception of 2003 (the second with 25.6º,) are all summers after the year 2010.
Since the turn of the century, only three summers (2000, 2002 and 2007) have recorded colder than average temperatures.