Mediterranean Sea breaks June surface heat record

This image shows the sea surface temperature anomaly detected in the Mediterranean Sea on 29 June 2026, compared to the average for the period 1991-2020, with dark red indicating temperatures that exceed the average by up to 8°C.

The highest average temperature increases are seen off the coast of southern France and around the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and around the Italian peninsula.

Data for the image is high-resolution sea surface temperature data provided by the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) for 29 June 2026. This is compared to data for 1991-2020 from a satellite-derived dataset created by the European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI).

The global average sea surface temperature has passed the records set in June 2023 and June 2024, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation programme.

The record-breaking temperatures were announced today by Copernicus, in a statement that pinpointed Sunday, 21 June, as the day when global sea surface temperatures surpassed the daily averages in past years, with temperatures reaching 21°C – a 0.1 °C increase on previous records.