Mediterranean vacation in danger: climate crisis is changing coastal paradise!

Mediterranean vacation in danger: climate crisis is changing coastal paradise!

The Mediterranean, a popular summer holiday destination, is increasingly facing the challenges of the climate crisis. Scientists warn that these developments have serious impacts on the environment and the holiday experience. According to a report by derwesten.de Rising temperatures and the associated ecological changes are alarming. Professor Christian Wild from the University of Bremen emphasizes that water temperatures no longer fall below ten degrees in winter, which has a major impact on the life of aquatic plants and animals.

Species that require periods of cold to reproduce are particularly affected. Snorkelers and divers are reporting declines in seagrass meadows and horn coral forests, while algae-like structures are spreading. These changes are indicative of deeper problems in the ecosystem and come alongside extreme weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall, that are affecting the Mediterranean coast.

Climate-related environmental changes

The effects of climate change can also be seen in the water chemistry of the Mediterranean: higher temperatures lead to increasing salinity through faster evaporation. This poses a challenge for numerous marine organisms such as fish, corals and mussels. In warmer water there is also an increased lack of oxygen, which in extreme cases can lead to mass extinctions.

Another problem is the explosively increasing jellyfish populations. Since 2003, these have caused an imbalance in the marine ecosystem due to warming water. Jellyfish, which have existed since before the dinosaurs and are important for a balanced ecosystem, have proliferated in southern Mediterranean waters in recent years. These jellyfish blooms, once rare, now occur annually and last longer, causing serious consequences for fisheries and tourism, such as wwf.de describes.

• Quallen verstopfen Fischernetze und beschädigen Fanggeräte.
• Sie beeinträchtigen auch Aquakulturbecken und verschlechtern die Wasserqualität.
• Strände mit Quallen verlieren an Attraktivität, was zu einem Rückgang der Besucherzahlen führt.

The decline in visitors varies by region and has economic consequences for local communities that rely heavily on tourism. Additionally, the likelihood of conflict-prone situations increases, particularly in areas where overfishing has decimated the population of jellyfish's natural enemies. The jellyfish could therefore become a dominant species in the Mediterranean and further threaten marine biodiversity.

Urgent need for action

The combination of overfishing, wastewater pollution and the effects of climate change requires decisive action. Experts are calling for coastal landscapes and biodiversity to be protected. These include, among other things, the restoration of seagrass meadows and measures against overfishing.

With bush and forest fires occurring regularly in countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy and southern France, it is clear that the terrestrial impacts of the climate crisis cannot be ignored. Italy in particular is suffering from severe droughts in the central and southern regions as well as in Sicily. Holidaymakers are called upon to take local warnings and weather advisories seriously in order to protect themselves and nature.