ISTANBUL

As global sea surface temperature sees an increase with climate change, the temperature in the seas surrounding Türkiye vary by regions, according to a Turkish expert.

Baris Salihoglu, the head of the Institute of Marine Sciences at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, said over the past 60 years, sea surface temperature goes parallel with approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius warming in the atmosphere.

Warming on the Turkish coasts has exceeded 2C in contrast to worldwide average, Salihoglu told Anadolu.

“We see that the seas surrounding Türkiye show great differences due to their unique structures.

“While sea surface temperature increases by 2.5C in the east of the Black Sea, this figure decreases to 1.5C as it comes to the west. The average sea surface temperature in the Black Sea is 2C.”

He said the temperature increase in the Marmara Sea is close to 2C and this rise cannot be explained by climate change alone.

He further said that they observed regional changes in the temperature increases in the Mediterranean, as the temperature rise approached 2C in the Mersin and Iskenderun gulfs, while there were a rise of nearly 1.5C in the Antalya Gulf and Fethiye.

In the Aegean Sea, which is not affected by the temperature rise in sea water as much as others due to its structure, the warming remains between 0.5C and 1C, he said.

Salihoglu listed some negativities caused by warming as the inability of the seas to repair themselves, the increase in pollution, and the decrease in the carbon sequestration capacity of the seas.

According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there will be an increase of 4-7C in the atmosphere by the end of the century, which means a disaster scenario for the seas, Salihoglu warned.