Sea off Málaga Cools from 28°C to 16°C in a Week — New Record Set

Off the coast of Málaga, Spain, sea water temperatures plunged from a near-record high to an all-time low in the space of just one week. According to the Spanish weather portal Meteored, on Tuesday, August 18, a harbour buoy recorded 28.8°C — just three-tenths of a degree short of the all-time record set in 2015.

Exactly a week later, on Tuesday, August 25, the water temperature at the same spot had dropped to 15.9°C. That's the lowest reading ever recorded for the month of August, breaking the previous cold record of 16.3°C set in 2014. According to eyewitnesses on social media, the buoy registered an even lower figure the following morning — 15.8°C.

Why the water cooled so dramatically

Such a rapid shift is unusual for sea water: water has a high heat capacity and typically changes temperature far more slowly than air. Near the coast, however, certain conditions can trigger sudden swings.

The cause of this cold snap is an oceanographic phenomenon known as upwelling. Off the coast of Málaga, it occurs when strong westerly winds push warm surface water away from the shore, allowing cold water from the depths to rise up and take its place.

Upwelling is the rise of deep ocean water to the surface, most commonly seen in coastal or equatorial regions where wind and the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis effect) push warm surface water aside. Cold water rich in nutrients from decomposed organic matter rises to replace it. This is precisely why upwelling zones are among the most biologically productive areas of the world's oceans, supporting thriving ecosystems and active fisheries.

A striking contrast amid record sea warmth

Upwelling is a fairly common occurrence in the Alboran Sea, the westernmost part of the Mediterranean, known for its complex current circulation. This time, however, the cooling proved exceptionally intense.

Notably, the record-cold water appeared off Málaga at precisely the moment the Mediterranean as a whole is experiencing record heat. As of Tuesday, August 25, the average sea surface temperature across the Mediterranean stood at 28.3°C — 1.8°C above normal.

In some areas, particularly off the coasts of Italy and North Africa, an extreme marine heatwave is underway, with water temperatures exceeding 30°C. Against this backdrop, the situation off Málaga stands in stark contrast to what's happening across most of the Mediterranean.

Source: novinky.cz