SPAIN: Thousands of stinging jellyfish mass in Mediterranean are attracted by unusually warmer waters

Tourists in Spain's north fleeing forest fires may think twice about heading to the Mediterranean after unusually hot weather brought a plague of stinging jellyfish to southern beaches. The government warned bathers on Tuesday (August 8) to avoid areas colonised by jellyfish attracted by water temperatures up to eight degrees celsius higher than normal. Holidaymakers arriving at beaches faced the sight of red flags, a precaution normally used in storms. The ban affects some of Spain's most popular resorts. The waters of the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Costa Brava and the Balearic Islands have been infested by unprecedented numbers of the jellyfish, whose sting can cause heart failure in extreme cases. "I have been stung by a jellyfish," said one young girl, adding that it hurt a lot. Being kept away from the sea, many tourists gathered along the coast trying to catch the jellyfish. More courageous one even tried to go for a quick swim. "I like swimming so I go in and when I see one I take a dip and run out because I have been stung before," said one tourist in the Granada resort of Almunecar. The jellyfish were attracted by unusually warm Mediterranean waters which are a result of this years hot weather in Spain. Scientists said single climatic events could not be blamed on global warming, but climatic changes are expected in the future. "In summer the vaporisation that rises from the precipitation from the mountains in the Mediterranean sits 5 kilometres over the sea, creating a green house effect that stops the sea from cooling overnight," said Millan Millan, Director of the Mediterranean environment studies. A British-Dutch study recently said Mediterranean beaches could be too hot for tourism by the 2080s, with people preferring to bake on the sands of Ireland and Scandinavia. tb/jrc

ITN Source | August 12, 2006

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