Sea temperatures reach 25 degrees in October in Alicante

The beaches of Benidorm and Torrevieja are bustling with sunbathers, soaking up the rays on the sand and swimming in the water as if it were the height of summer, however, it's not, it's October. It's not just the warmth that entices people to take a dip during a time that was once inconceivable just a few years ago, but also the sea temperature, which now resembles that of June or September.

This unusual occurrence is due to the sea being two degrees warmer than usual for this time of year, reaching an average of 25 degrees. The data supports this claim. In the tourist hotspot of Benidorm, weekly analyses conducted by the Municipal Laboratory of Benidorm show that temperatures have been changing over the past few years.

According to statistics, over the last decade, water temperatures have remained fairly consistent during October. In 2013, the average was 23.5 degrees, a figure that repeated in 2014. In 2015, it averaged 22 degrees; 23.2 in 2016; 22 degrees again in 2017, and 23.5 on average the following year.

This pattern continued in 2019, but in 2020, it dropped to 19-20 degrees. In 2021 and 2022, it once again averaged 23.5 degrees, until 2023, where the completed analyses show an average of 25.3. For comparison, the average in June of this year was 23.5 degrees.

This is confirmed by Jorge Olcina, a professor of Regional Geographic Analysis and the director of the Climatology Laboratory at the University of Alicante. He explained that "at the moment, the sea is around 25 degrees, which is quite unusual for October 20th."

According to him, the sea is two degrees above normal. Furthermore, in the southern area of Alicante, particularly on beaches like Torrevieja, it reaches the warmest point on the Costa Blanca with temperatures of 26 degrees.

The current situation has been developing for some time: "We've been experiencing years of constant warming of the Mediterranean Sea, which is a cause for concern off the coast of Alicante and the entire region, including Murcia." This is known as the "Balearic Sea," and it's the warmest area in the Western Mediterranean, affecting Alicante. The warming of the sea has been noticeable for years and isn't limited to October.

In June, the sea temperature can reach 24-25 degrees, higher than usual. This increased in July and August, with averages of 27 and 28 degrees, according to Olcina. As a curious fact, in August 2023, the sea temperature reached 28.9 degrees in Benidorm, and in the same period of 2019, it reached 29.1 degrees, according to statistics from the Municipal Laboratory.

The warm sea during these summer months also extends the accumulated heat into October. This results in scenes like the ones we are witnessing these days or saw during the October holidays in Benidorm and other coastal areas like Torrevieja, where residents and tourists swim as if it were still summer.