The opening ceremony was attended by the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas and dignitaries including Virginijus Sinkevičius, MEP and Vice-Chair of the TRAN Committee. This year’s focus is on better access to mobility for all, safer and well-connected routes for walking and cycling, plus clean, reliable, and accessible public transport, and attractive and accessible public spaces.

Since its first year, in 2001, thousands of towns and cities in dozens of countries from Albania to Colombia and South Korea have participated in the week. The initiative has promoted pedestrianisation with enlarged streets and improved infrastructure; better accessibility through actions such as the creation of wheelchair ramps and lowering of pavements; an Improved and expanded European cycling network; traffic calming measures, particularly around schools; and the provision of electric vehicle charging points to encourage new forms of vehicle ownership.

This year action is taking place across more than 2,500 towns and cities in Europe and beyond. In Aveiro, Portugal, residents are looking at mobility at both ends of the age spectrum, with a “Kidical” mass bicycle ride organised by and for children and families, as well as launching a “senior mobility charter.”

In Kassel, Germany, more multigenerational action is at work, with a walk bringing local senior care home residents’ views to the fore and a family transport-themed treasure hunt. In Differdange, Luxembourg, Car-Free Day will see BMX demonstrations takeover the centre, while bike ramps and expanded 30 km/h zones will leave a permanent legacy.

Picking up on those themes in a statement, Tzitzikostas said: “The European Mobility Week is a reminder that transport must work for everyone. This year, our campaign’s focus is on intergenerational fairness. We need accessible, affordable and reliable mobility solutions that connect people of all ages to services, jobs, education, and each other. A fairer, cleaner and more user-friendly transport system means more opportunities, greater independence and stronger communities across Europe.”

Businesses, NGOs, schools, and other actors, including cities, who want to get involved in the ongoing challenge of the “EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK” branded campaign are encouraged to register their “MOBILITYACTION” online.

L’article European Mobility Week marks 25 years with focus on sustainable transport est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Kauaʻi’s visitor economy is facing a delicate trade-off once more, after Hurricane Lowell: the island needs space and resources for recovery, yet many livelihoods depend on tourism. State tourism officials are advising travellers to avoid Kauaʻi for now as crews clear fallen trees and utility poles, restore electricity and repair storm-damaged roads. At the same time, they are asking visitors to consider another Hawaiian island rather than cancel the state entirely.

Lowell’s winds and storm surge damaged coastal properties, washed out sections of road and left thousands of customers—including hotels—without power. Departing passengers also encountered long queues at Kauaʻi’s main airport. Two deaths in Hawaiʻi were linked to the storm, and the governor sought a major federal disaster declaration for Kauaʻi and Maui counties.

Tourism supports an estimated four in ten jobs on Kauaʻi, making any pause costly for hotels, holiday rentals, restaurants, activity providers, and their staff. The disruption is uneven, however. Koʻa Kea Resort in Poʻipū said affected guests could receive refunds and forecast a return to normal operations within about two weeks. The Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort reported no structural damage but temporarily closed while awaiting the restoration of power.

For small operators, the immediate calculation extends beyond lost sales. In the wake of the storm, the Musubi Truck has used its commercial kitchen, propane, and generators to provide nearly 600 free meals in Wailua, while nearby businesses contributed drinks and equipment. Its co-owner, Kelly Kakalia, prioritised residents’ access to food, water, and power over short-term trade, later passing generators to families still without electricity. The response illustrates how visitor-facing businesses are also part of the island’s emergency support network.

Conditions can vary sharply by district and property. Some parts of the island escaped major damage, and at least one Poʻipū rental owner reported functioning water and nearby beach access. Yet the South Shore suffered serious damage around Baby Beach, and local appeals warned that visitors could place additional demand on scarce food, fuel, and utilities. Travellers should therefore treat island-wide imagery and isolated reassuring reports with equal caution: the status of a specific accommodation and the route to it matter more than a general impression.

Advice to holidaymakers bound for the islands includes:

• Contact the provider directly: confirm power, running water, access roads, staffing and the property’s reopening date before travelling.
• Review flexible options: ask about rebooking or refunds; policies differ, although some affected resorts have offered both.
• Consider rerouting: moving the trip to another Hawaiian island can preserve the holiday while supporting the wider visitor economy.
• Avoid burdening relief operations: unless travelling for family needs or organised assistance, postpone if essential services remain constrained.
• Monitor transport: allow for airport congestion, service changes and longer journeys where roads are damaged or being cleared.

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Kauaʻi’s recovery will require tourism demand to return—but at a pace aligned with restored infrastructure and residents’ needs. Clear, property-level updates will be essential: overly broad alarm could prolong losses for businesses that are ready to operate, while premature arrivals could divert supplies and staff from harder-hit communities. For travellers, flexibility is the most useful form of support: verify, reroute, or postpone rather than assuming the whole island is either closed or unaffected.

L’article Kauaʻi asks visitors to pause as Hurricane Lowell recovery puts tourism under strain est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Taking place from 15-17 September 2026 at the Thessaloniki Convention and Cultural Centre, this year’s 24th edition of the CIVITAS Forum is themed “Roots & Routes: Moving Forward to Competitive, Connected and Resilient Urban Mobility!” The programme will be structured around those three umbrella topics (competitive, connected, and resilient mobility), reflecting key priorities for sustainable urban mobility in Europe. EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas will attend the final plenary.

Delegates will have the opportunity to share best practices and discover strategies for creating sustainable, competitive, and adaptable transport systems that connect various modes of transport, from walking and cycling to shared mobility and electric vehicles. Organisers promise sessions on financing, accessibility and safety, and the mobility-energy nexus, and an approach that will highlight the role of technology, community engagement, and resilience in shaping cities that are “ready for the future while meeting the needs of all residents today.”

A northwest Aegean coastal city founded in 315 BCE that has become Greece’s second capital and a major tourist maritime hub now home to around a million people, Thessaloniki is perfectly suited to an event exploring how cities can blend their historical foundations with innovative approaches to mobility.

Welcoming the forum, city mayor Stelios Angeloudis said in a statement: “Thessaloniki is a city where history runs deep—a historic crossroads of cultures and civilisations for over two millennia.” Going on to acknowledge the “pressing challenges of the climate crisis” the mayor said the city “is actively transforming its urban landscape. Our administration is committed to an ambitious, green, and digital transition. We envision a more sustainable, resilient, and accessible city that elevates the quality of life for all residents, workers, and visitors alike.”

Angeloudis also pointed to the city’s “new metro system, the rapid electrification and modernisation of our public bus fleet, the expansion of smart traffic management, and our ongoing efforts to reclaim public space through extensive pedestrian and waterfront rejuvenations,” as positive examples of change that Thessaloniki has already undertaken. As well as attending the conference, delegates are invited to take the chance to experience the host city’s hospitality and witness first-hand what the mayor called “our urban evolution.”

L’article Thessaloniki to host CIVITAS Forum 2026 on sustainable urban and tourism mobility est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The global average surface air temperature reached 16.96°C last month, which is 0.85°C above the 1991–2020 average. It made August the warmest August in the ERA5 dataset and the joint-warmest month across all calendar months along with July 2023.

Temperatures were 1.65°C above the estimated 1850–1900 pre-industrial average, marking the first month since November 2025 in which the global temperature anomaly exceeded 1.5°C.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries committed to pursuing efforts to limit long-term global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. A single month exceeding that threshold does not mean the long-term Paris Agreement target has been breached, which is measured over a longer period. The global average temperature for the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026 was 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels.

“August 2026 was a remarkable month in the global climate record,” said Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). “Combined with record global sea surface temperatures and the warmest summer on record for Western Europe, these observations show how climate change is driving extremes across both the atmosphere and the oceans.”

Ocean temperatures also reached record levels. The average sea surface temperature across extra-polar oceans, between 60°S and 60°N, stood at 21.07°C, the highest recorded for August and equal to the all-month record set in March 2024. Copernicus said the exceptional temperatures reflected global heating alongside rapidly developing El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

Europe also experienced unusually high temperatures. The average temperature over European land in August reached 20.26°C, 1.10°C above the 1991–2020 average, making it the continent’s fourth-warmest August on record.

Summer 2026 was the third warmest recorded across Europe as a whole, behind 2024 and 2022. Western Europe, however, experienced its hottest summer on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2003 after a succession of early, persistent and intense heatwaves.

Dry conditions also affected large parts of Europe during the summer, with exceptionally low soil moisture and widespread low river flows. By August, several major European rivers were experiencing unusually low water levels, with the Danube stranding cruise ships and disrupting tourism in Hungary. Rhine, Southern Bug and Dnieper also saw exceptionally low flows, while the Vistula, Glomma, Rhône, Seine and Po also reached exceptionally low levels before recovering slightly following late-August rainfall.

Meanwhile, extreme heat and wildfires have affected large parts of Europe. In France, the largest wildfire began on 22 July in Saumos, in the Gironde department, burning or damaging around 42,000 hectares. 220,000 people across 23 towns were evacuated, including tourists, while 240 residential homes were destroyed. Around 2,500 firefighters were deployed, with 84 injured. Overall, wildfires across the Gironde and Landes regions near Bordeaux forced around 260,000 people to flee their homes.

Spain also faced widespread wildfires throughout the summer, with more than 170,000 hectares of forest land affected since the beginning of 2026, compared with just 29,000 hectares in 2025. Around 76,000 people were evacuated nationwide, and a further 30,000 were confined to their homes as firefighters battled major blazes near Madrid, Ávila and Valencia. The Ávila fire alone burned around 25,000 hectares, making it one of the largest in Spain’s recent history, while a blaze near Madrid forced 116,000 people to evacuate.

In Greece, dozens of fires have burned around 6,000 hectares on Crete and Paros, while fires around the Gulf of Corinth forced evacuations from Porto Germeno and nearby villages, destroying some 10,000 hectares as well as homes and vehicles. Athens also faced evacuations of more than 1,000 people, including over 250 rescued by boat from beaches. At least 12,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land were burned, while two helicopter pilots were killed during a firefighting operation.

Globally, the June-to-August period was the joint warmest on record, matching 2024. From January to August, 2026 ranked as the second-warmest year on record so far, behind 2024 and ahead of 2023. Copernicus said El Niño conditions are expected to strengthen further in the coming months, potentially developing into one of the strongest events on record and increasing the likelihood of continued high global temperatures during the remainder of the year.

L’article August 2026 was world’s joint hottest month ever recorded, Copernicus finds est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

According to a press release, Solar Team Eindhoven from Eindhoven University of Technology, in partnership with international health organisation Amref Health Africa, demonstrated their “Stella Juva” technology in trials in Kenya.

The solar ambulance is fitted with solar panels on the roof and generates energy while stationary via the use of extendable panels on the sides of the vehicle. This energy proved “to be sufficient to drive and to power medical equipment,” the team said. That equipment included an X-ray machine, ultrasound, an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), and cooling apparatus for vaccines.

Bringing healthcare directly to people, the researchers tested Stella Juva in the field around Kenya’s Narok region. The solar ambulance is approved for use on public roads, meaning that it could be deployed on both paved and unpaved roads, reflecting the reality of the conditions the vehicle could ultimately face. At one point, the team spent six hours travelling on challenging roads to reach a remote field location in Mosiro.

In total, the team covered more than 800 km, suffering only one issue en route – a broken steering rod, which was replaced within half an hour. This demonstrated “that the solar ambulance is reliable and performs well under challenging conditions,” the team claims. The vehicle generated more solar energy than it consumed whilst using all the medical equipment simultaneously.

“It is really great for the team to see the potential of Stella Juva in practice”, says team manager Mathijs van Gerven. “Not only to drive sustainably, but also to be able to provide fully independent care. Especially in remote areas where energy is often scarce, this can make all the difference.”

Health workers from facilities that Amref Health Africa works with tested the medical equipment and have hailed its promise. “Now that we have seen what Stella Juva can do in practice, we see enormous potential for remote communities. This could truly be a gamechanger”, says Geoffrey Sadera, project lead, maternal and child health at Amref Health Africa.

Narok is not the only example of a place where Stella Juva could make a real difference: one third of Kenya’s counties face similar challenges, with populations living at least two hours from care facilities, High levels of maternal and child mortality is just one consequence. “If we could deploy Stella Juva in these areas, the potential impact could be enormous: we could identify risks earlier, intervene sooner, and ultimately save lives,” Sadera explained. For example, during a single outreach, 30 to 40 pregnant women could receive an ultrasound in their own community, the researchers noted.

With the power and medical equipment required to examine and diagnose people on the spot, Stella Juva could revolutionise healthcare provision in remote destinations, making a tangible difference to locals, as well as to volunteer workers and visitors to these regions.

L’article Dutch researchers bring world’s first solar ambulance to remote destinations est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The “significant flash flooding” struck the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch areas on Saturday, 29 August, according to the National Park Service (NPS). Two people were confirmed dead, while more than 80 people were evacuated from the affected areas. At least one person remained unaccounted for in the days following the disaster, according to CBS News.

The flooding caused widespread damage to infrastructure in the inner canyon, including nearly every footbridge spanning Bright Angel Creek. More than 60 people were evacuated by helicopter from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail as floodwaters swept through the area.

One of the most significant consequences has been damage to the Transcanyon Waterline, the system that supplies water from the canyon for use throughout the park. The waterline is currently not operational, leaving the Grand Canyon with limited water reserves and forcing officials to introduce Stage 4 water restrictions on the South Rim.

Under the restrictions, all overnight guest accommodation operated by park concessionaires has been closed for the foreseeable future. This includes El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Phantom Ranch, Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village RV Park. Hotels located outside the park in Tusayan are not affected by the restrictions.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the NPS wrote in a statement. “We are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth, flushing toilets selectively, washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to the appropriate offices.”

Camping is also limited. Only dry camping is permitted on the South Rim, with campground water spigots turned off, although bathroom faucets remain operational. Fires are prohibited in the South Rim and inner canyon areas, including wood-burning and charcoal fires.

The park itself remains open for day use, with food and beverage services, the Grand Canyon Clinic and the Post Office continuing to operate, although some services may have reduced hours. 

The Colorado River has also been closed to river traffic until further notice because of metal structures and debris entering the river. Visitors with upcoming river trips have been advised to contact their commercial outfitter or the NPS River Permits office for information specific to their trip.

The flooding occurred during the region’s monsoon season, when intense rainfall can rapidly funnel through the Grand Canyon’s steep, rocky terrain. The Guardian reported that the storm also affected areas scarred by the 2025 Dragon Bravo wildfire, where reduced vegetation can increase runoff. Researchers cited by the newspaper also pointed to drought, warming temperatures and a potentially stronger El Niño as factors that may have contributed to the extreme rainfall.

With further thunderstorms and heavy rainfall possible, the NPS has warned that additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and rapidly changing trail and river conditions could occur.

L’article Deadly Grand Canyon flash flood forces hotel closures and Stage 4 water restrictions est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Although the circumstances of last week’s flash flooding that hit Himalayan valleys along the Nepal-China border weren’t clear initially, it now seems likely that the natural catastrophe was caused by a failing mountainside. When the bedrock beneath a Himalayan glacier gave way, ice and rock fell into the rivers below, with devastating results – at the moment of writing, the death toll has exceeded 1,000, and some 3,900 people remain missing.

Recurring floods

The flash flood of 26 august might have been one of exceptional size but it is not an isolated event. Moreover, climate scientists have been warning for such scenarios for decades and have been studying the mountains in the region for decades. Rising temperatures cause multiple consequences – not only are the glaciers melting, the integral structure of the Himalayan mountains is also being altered.

The Global Mountain Safeguard Research programme (GLOMOS), part of UNU’s Institute for Environment and Human Security, has recently been researching flash floods in the region, from the earliest records through 2024. Since 1950, floods have become five times more frequent.

Generally speaking, rising temperatures lead to melting glaciers, the meltwater of whom is then collected in natural lakes held together by unstable rocks. When those dams break, the water pours into the rivers, leading to flash floods. On 26 August, however, the scenario seems to have been different. Although scientists are not yet sure whether or not a temporary dam maintained the failing bedrock and the ice above for a couple of instants, the whole process was sped up due to the fact that the mountain structure gave way.

“Scientists say thinning and retreating of glaciers can not only cause their collapse but can also rapidly fill up glacial lakes that can then burst out causing floods. They say ice and snow buttress mountain slopes – just like cement keeps buildings intact. When they fast melt, then mountains destabilise and we see increased incidents of rockfalls, landslides, avalanches and debris floods – as we are seeing in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region,” wrote Navin Singh Khadka, Environment correspondent at BBC World Service.

Although it is hard to determine whether or not global warming was directly responsible for the mountain collapse that caused the flash flood, it is nearly impossible to deny that the Himalayan ecosystem has been radically changed by the rising temperatures, from melting ice to failing mountains.

Changing living circumstances

Moreover, in an interview with UN News, Nepal-born climate researcher Dipesh Chapagain also pointed towards a changing human geography in the region. Whereas previously, people had been living on mountains and cultivating the grounds around the rivers, now, many actually live alongside the river. Caused by numerous reasons – including better economic opportunities, easier building, and access to water as higher sources are drying up – this also exposes them to greater risks in case of a flash flood.

“We’d ask the world… to take climate change as one of the major challenges that Nepal and its citizens face, and this has to be a global effort. We request the global community to come together and preserve the Himalayan ecosystem,” stated Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal following the flash flood.

For Chapagain, catastrophes such as the one that took place on 26 August are becoming ever more likely. Even if the global warming is capped, the consequences of the last decades will likely go on for a long time in the region. 

In order to deal with the future, people will thus need to adapt. But governments also have their role to play, especially when it comes to establishing a warning system allowing locals and tourists alike to evacuate and when it comes to aiding the most vulnerable communities to make the adaptations needed to adapt themselves to the rapidly-changing circumstances.

L’article Natural disasters to become more recurrent in the Himalayas, researchers warn est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Concerns over scooter safety have been multiplying for a number of years since their first introduction on city streets around the world. The hop-on-hop-off nature of easily rented street scooters has been promoted as a “final kilometre” micro-mobility solution, but medical professionals and data point to a surge in head injuries caused by scooter accidents. Many riders appear unequipped with protective clothing, headgear, or any understanding of the consequences of a fall or accident at high speed.

“International studies, medical and accident statistics all point in the same direction: in serious and fatal accidents involving motorised transport, particularly electric scooters, head and brain injuries are very common,” the Mobility and Transport service said.

Vanaf 1 september: helm op de elektrische step!

Rijdt je elektrische step sneller dan 20 km/u? Dan is een helm vanaf 1 september verplicht, ook als je op dat moment trager rijdt. Je kiest zelf wat voor type helm, zolang de achterkant van je hoofd en je slapen bedekt zijn. pic.twitter.com/UCaILasTZG

— Politie Leuven (@PolitieLeuven) August 31, 2026

Now officials hope to address the scourge with a blanket rule: if the scooter is capable of reaching speeds above 20 km per hour, the rider must wear a helmet. The rule seeks to remove any questions about speed detection or enforcement, with the emphasis simply placed on the capability of the transport device, rather than the speed it is travelling at any given time.

Former scooter industry lobbyist Peter Beckett, writing in The Brussels Times, has argued that the government is getting its response wrong. He highlights that the 26% increase in accident numbers recorded between 2024 and 2025 came as shared scooter trips also increased by 26%. But the long-recognised worldwide standard for measuring road safety is per million inhabitants, not per trip, in order to capture the overall burden placed on a whole society by the way people behave on the roads.

When it comes to that burden, the advent of thousands of scooters on Belgian streets has caused not only safety worries, but also a growing public outcry over clutter from discarded scooters in parks, woodlands, and streets, as well as their impact on street accessibility, especially for people with reduced vision or mobility.

#SécuritéRoutière

Qui est concerné par l’obligation du port du casque ?

Trottinettes électriques, gyropodes, hoverboards, monoroues… l’obligation concerne les utilisateurs d’engins de déplacement personnel motorisés (EDPM).

Dans le Nord, le port du casque deviendra… pic.twitter.com/e21tyVEgDy

— Préfecture de la région Hauts-de-France et du Nord (@prefet59) August 27, 2026

Scooters that can travel above 25 km per hour are already prohibited in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and rentable e-scooters, such as fleets belonging to Bolt, Dott, and Lime, have been banned. The ban was due to come into effect in September 2026, though they remain on the streets until December 2026 under a transition arrangement.

Personal scooters, rather than shared ones, are still permitted, but riders must respect the same rules: they must comply with the maximum speed of 25 km per hour and wear a helmet if the device is capable of reaching over 20 km per hour. No one under 16 is permitted to ride a scooter, according to the law.

Meanwhile, rules about bicycles and helmets do not follow the same logic. Bike helmets are optional in Belgium for adults and children, even if the bike can reach 25 km per hour. Helmets are compulsory for e-bikes capable of travelling above that speed. Until recently, much Belgian advice on bike safety centred on “riding style” as a way to prevent accidents. Around a thousand injuries involving bikes occur per year in Brussels alone.

Belgium’s road safety statistics in general have long been cause for scrutiny, with the country sitting in the middle of the regional table, recording around double the number of fatalities per million inhabitants annually compared with safety leaders such as Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

L’article Belgium makes helmets mandatory for electric scooters exceeding 20 km/h est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The tragedy took place along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river, and was at first attributed to an earthquake. However, later seismic analysis by United States geologists suggested a massive landslide had triggered the disaster. Some outlets are speculating that climate change could have intensified both the phenomenon and its consequences.

As well as over 100 Nepalese visitors to the area, over 100 Indian citizens, 54 Americans, 34 Australians, and 33 Brits, including a child as young as 13, are among the missing, Nepal’s tourist board said. Chinese state media In Tibet are reporting at least three dead and 265 missing.

The victims were caught up in what one witness described to The Guardian as “a huge gush of mud.” Some survivors reported clinging to trees and rooftops while their loved ones were washed away. Some experts have suggested that people would have needed to gain at least six metres in elevation to escape the tide of water, sediment, and debris.

Verified videos show dwellings, power infrastructure, roads, and border crossings all affected by a fast-moving wall of sludge, with entire villages engulfed, according to aerial images. At least 28 police officers are missing at the time of writing.

The region where the catastrophe struck is along the Himalayan border, and is popular with Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims, trekkers, and other visitors who reach the site via bus. Tour company staff based in various countries have confirmed they have missing guests, and an Indian firm told press one of their buses had crashed off a mountain road during the land movement.

Embassy staff from the UK, Australia, Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland, and the EU are urging any citizens in the flooded areas to “follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories.” A joint statement expressed solidarity with those affected and deep sadness at the “devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas.”

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Due to a combination of monsoon rains, fragile geology, unregulated construction practices, and climate, Nepal records hundreds of landslides and related deaths annually. These risks are most frequent during the June to September monsoon season.

Looking ahead, Chitwan, a jungle safari destination known for its rare species like the one-horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal tiger, and gharial crocodile, is one of several municipalities that continue to be on high flood alert.

L’article Hundreds of tourists missing or dead in Nepal-Tibet flash floods est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The findings from World Weather Attribution, involving researchers from Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, show that carbon pollution has supercharged sea surface temperatures, raising them by about 2C in the Mediterranean, 1.4C in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Peninsula, and 1.3C around Ireland and the Channel.

The marine heatwaves are being observed earlier in the year, more frequently, and at higher intensities than would have been usual in pre-industrial times, with temperatures occurring in the Celtic region that previously would have been considered a 1-in-100-year event. In the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Peninsula, the western Mediterranean and eastern Mediterranean, the sea surface highs “would have been virtually impossible in a pre-industrial climate,” the researchers said, noting that the increases in the western and eastern Mediterranean“substantially exceed the level of global warming.”

The high sea surface temperatures have occurred outside the summer months too. The shoulder months, especially in spring, show warming much greater than the global average, the study says.

Co-author Claire Bergin, a climate analyst at Ireland’s Maynooth University, said: “While warmer waters for swimming may sound appealing to beachgoers in cooler countries like mine, the impact on marine life beneath the surface is more serious.” She went on to warn of “the potential to completely reshape ecosystems that coastal communities rely on for food and income, and drive damaging extreme weather on land too.”

As marine species migrate and adapt their diets to the changing conditions, “shifts in marine species distributions may affect the range of fish and crustaceans available for human consumption and aquaculture,” the report warns, highlighting examples such as dolphins reportedly feeding on jellyfish due to changes in the availability of their usual prey.

Warmer seas not only bring a risk of different diseases and parasites, but in turn cause warmer air and higher humidity for coastal regions increasing the risk of heat stress in human populations, and the chance of extreme rainfall events later in the season.

The report calls for a rapid transition away from the climate supercharging fossil fuels which, the researchers say, “is essential to save crucial ecosystems, fisheries, food production and tourism along the European coasts.” They also suggest adaptation measures to reduce pressure on marine ecosystems, protect habitats, evolve fisheries and aquaculture management, and improve monitoring and early-warning systems.

L’article Climate change pushes European seas to unprecedented temperatures, study finds est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.