The temperature of the Mediterranean is rising and has remained disturbingly warm this winter, scientists at Italy's largest environmental research institute have warned.
Water temperatures are much hotter than average across 75% of the Mediterranean, according to a report published this week by the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), part of the Italian National Research Council (CNR).
"This year opened with a general increase in the surface temperature of two degrees centigrade in the Mediterranean," explained Emanuele Bohm of ISAC.
"The peak of two degrees was recorded in waters around western Sicily and western Sardinia, while there was a general increase across three quarters of the Mediterranean".
ISAC noted that the Mediterranean had risen to record temperatures in 2003. But by October, levels had returned to normal.
Similarly the temperature rose by five degrees this summer. The continued warm water through the winter months is therefore cause for real concern, said ISAC.
"The temperature of the Mediterranean has been above the seasonal average since June 2006 now," said Bohm. "It is at least half a degree higher across the Mediterranean and one degree higher in the Tyrrhenian sea".
This abnormal phenomenon reflects changes at a global level, according to the team that worked on the report.
"Eighty percent of oceans worldwide have seen an increase of around half a degree, compared to the average recorded between 1961 and 1990," said Rosalia Santoleri of CNR's Oceanographic Group.
The report comes as Italy faces one of its warmest winters on record.
Italy's farmers have warned that the unusually mild temperatures threaten to wreak havoc with the 2007 harvests and trigger massive economic losses.
Low levels of snowfall and rainfall mean Italy's rivers are also forecast to hit record lows. The normally mighty River Po is already well below its seasonal average.
This could cause a shortage of water for irrigation. It may also spark problems for the energy sector, with a lack of water for hydroelectric plants and for the cooling systems of thermal power plants.
Although temperatures dropped sharply this week, the mild weather is expected to return over the next few days.
