Sea temperatures hit record highs

SEA temperatures have hit record highs this summer, and may stay that way throughout the month.

The Mediterranean is above the average for the season, beating a previous record set in 2003. In Corsica, temperatures of 27°C have been recorded.

A combination of a very sunny July and weak winds are behind the phenomenon.

Fabrice Lecornu of the research body Ifremer told France Info that the warm temperature would last throughout August: “If air temperatures continue to rise without any wind

Along the Mediterranean coast average temperatures are 24-25°C, while the Atlantic coast runs from 18°C in Brittany to 24°C along Aquitaine. The English Channel is between 15°C and 18°C.

The Atlantic Ocean is also warmer than usual for the season.

“This summer, as we had very hot masses of air, we also had a rise, more relative, in the temperatures of the English Channel and the Atlantic,” added Mr Lecornu.