Sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean Sea reached up to 30 °C (86 °F) in early July 2025, with anomalies of 5–6 °C (9–10.8 °F) above average under strong to severe marine heatwave conditions.
New research confirms that a massive flood event, known as the Zanclean Megaflood, rapidly refilled the Mediterranean Sea approximately 5.33 million years ago. Scientists have identified geological formations in Southeast Sicily that provide the most detailed evidence yet of the cataclysmic event that ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis and reshaped the region.
The Mediterranean Sea experienced an extraordinary waterspout outbreak on June 13, 2023, with the International Centre for Waterspout Research (ICWR) confirming 15 waterspouts off the coasts of Italy, France, and Spain.
A stunning, slow-moving fireball crossed the night sky over the Mediterranean Sea at 04:08 UTC on December 4, 2021. The bolide was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from a comet that hit the atmosphere at about 83 000 km/h (51 600 mph), according to the principal…
A waterspout outbreak is in progress over the central Mediterranean Sea since November 13, 2021, with most of them along the Sicilian southwest coast. According to the International Centre for Waterspout Research (ICWR), waterspouts have been reported off of Italy…
This bright North Taurid fireball overflew the Mediterranean Sea at 22:52 UTC on November 7, 2021. It was produced by a fragment from Comet Encke that hit the atmosphere at about 111 000 km/h (68 970 mph). The fireball began at an altitude of about 101 km (62 mph)…
A slow-moving fireball was recorded over the Mediterranean Sea, between the coasts of Spain and Morocco, at 02:25 UTC on May 14, 2021. The fireball was generated by a rock from an asteroid that hit the atmosphere at about 68 000 km/h. It began at an altitude of…
This beautiful meteor spotted from Spain overflew the Mediterranean Sea at about 03:13 UTC on November 8, 2020 (04:13 LT). It was generated by a rock from Comet Encke that hit the atmosphere at about 101 000 km/h. The visual part of the event began at an altitude…
Severe Medistorm Cassilda formed near Libya, Mediterranean Sea on September 15, 2020. This is the first severe medistorm of the 2020/21 Mediterranean medicane season which began on July 1. The storm was named by the Mediterranean Cyclone Center, an unofficial…
Another bright fireball was recorded streaking across the night sky over the Mediterranean Sea on July 23, 2018, just 5 days after a long-lasting fireball over the same region. It was recorded by the meteor observing stations operating in the framework of the SMART…
