If even only a few species of plants and animals die off from excessive temperature rises, the entire food system, the ecosystem of the impacted region, ripples with change, death and destruction as nature struggles to adapt. But if the relevant temperature changes are particularly significant, disruptions resonate well beyond the immediately impacted area. We’ve seen wildfires consume increasing areas of continental Europe, after record-breaking heatwaves:
“The total number of wildfires in the European Union since the beginning of 2022 is almost four times the 15-year average for the same time period, according to Copernicus, the bloc's Earth observation program…. Copernicus said that 1,926 wildfires had scorched EU nations from the beginning of the year up to July 23. In comparison, the average number for the same period of year, calculated with data from 2006 to 2021, was 520.” CNN.com, July 27th. Many of these have been massive blazes, mirroring mega-wildfires in the United States and Australia.
But what might seem like a pleasant day at the beach in nations around the Mediterranean Sea, warm waters and blue skies, conceals literally what lies beneath. Marine biologists and climatologists are discovering what is being labeled a “massive mortality” of sea life. “From Barcelona to Tel Aviv, scientists say they are witnessing exceptional water temperature hikes ranging from 5.4 to 9 degrees [Fahrenheit] above the norm for this time of year… Water temperatures have regularly exceeded 86 degrees on some days… Extreme heat in Europe and other countries around the Mediterranean has grabbed headlines this summer, but the rising sea temperature is largely out of sight and out of mind.
“Marine heat waves are caused by ocean currents building up areas of warm water… Weather systems and heat in the atmosphere can also add degrees to the water temperature… And just like their on-land counterparts, marine heat waves are longer, more frequent and more intense because of human-induced climate change…
“About 50 species, including corals, sponges and seaweed, were affected along thousands of miles of Mediterranean coastline, according to [a study of heat waves in the Mediterranean Sea between 2015 and 2019], which was published in the Global Change Biology journal… The situation in the eastern Mediterranean basin is particularly dire… Some of the most affected species are key to maintaining the functioning and diversity of the sea’s habitats. Species like the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, which can absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide and shelter marine life, or coral reefs, which are also home to wildlife, would be at risk…
“The waters off Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria are ‘the hottest hot spot in the Mediterranean for sure,’ said Gil Rilov, a marine biologist at Israel’s Oceanographic and Limnological Research institute, and one of the paper’s co-authors. Average sea temperatures in the summer are now consistently higher than 88 degrees… These warming seas are driving many native species to the brink, ‘because every summer their optimum temperature is being exceeded,’ he said.
“What he and his colleagues are witnessing in terms of biodiversity loss [about 10% of the species on Earth] is what is projected to happen farther west in the Mediterranean toward Greece, Italy and Spain in the coming years… [Joaquim Garrabou, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona] says the mortality impacts on species were observed between the surface and around 150 feet deep, where the recorded marine heat waves were exceptional. Heat waves affected more than 90% of the Mediterranean Sea’s surface…
“According to the most recent scientific papers, the sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean has increased by 0.72 of a degree each decade between 1982 and 2018… On a yearly basis, it has been rising by about 0.09 of a degree over the last decade without any sign of letting up… Even fractions of degrees can have disastrous effects on ocean health, experts say… The affected areas have also grown since the 1980s and now cover most of the Mediterranean, the study suggests.
“‘The question is not about the survival of nature, because biodiversity will find [a] way to a survive on the planet,’ Garrabou said… ‘The question is if we keep going in this direction, maybe our society, humans, will not have a place to live.’… Garrabou points out that seas have been serving the planet by absorbing 90% of the Earth’s excess heat and 30% of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by coal, oil and gas production. This carbon-sink effect shields the planet from even harsher climate effects… This was possible because oceans and seas were in a healthy condition, Garrabou said.” Associated Press, August 18th. But this benefit is rapidly eroding. Further, as weakened species struggle to survive, parasites and other infectious agents can rise to feast on impacted sea life, exacerbating an already dire situation.
Heatwaves on land spread into the sea, but most policymakers are unaware of the linkage. Efforts to curtail fishing in areas of the Mediterranean that have been particularly hard hit only begin to address the damage. “[M]arine heat waves could also have serious consequences for the countries bordering the Mediterranean and the more than 500 million people who live there if it’s not dealt with soon, scientists say. Fish stocks will be depleted and tourism will be adversely affected, as destructive storms could become more common on land.” AP.
As rising generations watch their incumbent elder politicians waffle and succumb to special interests dedicated to opposing necessary climate change containment, as nations blame each other, will they be condemned to levels of misery we cannot even contemplate today? Isn’t there enough current misery to push governments around the world to do what must be done? Nature does not care if we don’t want to fight back.
I’m Peter Dekom, and the number of de facto “dead canaries” in the coalmine of planet earth is anything but a subtle reminder of how we are killing ourselves and everything around us.
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