The Italian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has revealed that the Mediterranean Sea is slowly turning into a tropical sea due to rising global temperatures and climate change.
The organization said that nearly 1,000 exotic species have adapted to live in its waters replacing endemic species due to the climate crisis. The invasive fish species from the Red Sea have infiltrated the Aegean and the Ionian Seas over the last several years.
The study also discovered that temperatures rose 20 percent faster than the global average and sea levels also increased, which are expected to have risen one meter by 2100. All findings indicate that the saltiest and fastest-warming sea on the planet.
WWF said that the Mediterranean Sea is slowly turning into a tropical sea due to rising global temperatures and climate change | Image: Jorge Sierra / WWF-Spain
According to the president of WWF Italy, Donatella Bianchi,
The scenarios presented by experts on the future of the Mediterranean, which speak of accelerating temperature rises and the entry of numerous alien species, the Mare Nostrum is at risk of changing face very quickly with inevitable consequences for communities. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to focus on the protected marine area, at least 30% by 2030.
It is also noted that rising temperatures are transforming the depths of deep waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Endemic grasslands and Pinna Nobilis have declined in the region, ultimately becoming completely extinct in some areas.
The loss of these species would dramatically impact the entire marine ecosystem as they provide vital habitats for many species and provide benefits in the fight climate change as some of them function as natural carbon sinks.
However, the Mediterranean Sea is warming up rapidly than its counterparts. Native mollusks have decreased by almost 90 percent in Israeli waters, invasive species account for 80 percent of fish catches in Turkey, and southern species have become common sightings in northern Liguria (Italy) waters.
If the process is not halted immediately, the Mediterranean will be a tropical sea in no time and all its contributions to maintaining the ecological balance on the planet will vanish.
Via: Our Daily Planet