Scientists say that climate change is causing record temperatures in Europe's oceans.

Scientists warned on Wednesday that climate change caused by humans was the primary cause of recent sea temperatures around Europe. They warned of serious consequences for marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

Europe's oceans are not immune to the?extreme temperatures that many countries endured this summer. The average temperature of the Mediterranean last month was 27 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded for July. An offshore buoy near Mallorca measured 33 C early in August.

According to an analysis by the World Weather Attribution group (WWA), which uses peer reviewed methods to assess the role of global warming in extreme weather events, human-caused climate changes have added around 2 C to the Mediterranean Sea and around 1.4 C for the Western European Seas.

Claire Bergin is a climate scientist from Ireland's Maynooth University, who was a coauthor of the study.

Without human-caused global warming, the analysis concluded that the peak sea temperatures observed this year along?the Bay of Biscay coast and Iberian coastline and in eastern and western Mediterranean would have been "virtually unachievable".

The most extreme temperatures in the Celtic Sea off Britain and Ireland would only have occurred once every century if climate change was not caused by humans, according to the study.

Heater seas can increase humidity in coastal areas, and the temperatures at night. This will fuel more intense storms in later months.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from fossil fuels burning, have increased the average temperature of the Earth's surface by 1.4 C. The higher baseline temperature means that high-pressure systems in the atmosphere, which cause heatwaves, can reach even higher temperatures.

Sea temperature spikes may cause coral deaths and disrupt the food supply for birds and mammal species, which can have knock-on effects through food chains.

John Bruno, an ecologist from the University of North Carolina said that some species are moving north in search of cooler waters. However, not all of them can adapt.

He said that we are "quickly approaching the absolute biological limits" of adaptation for many species.

According to the WWA analysis, this year marine heatwaves affected 90% of the Bay of Biscay area and 80% of western Mediterranean. This figure would be closer to 40% without global warming. Reporting by Kate Abnett. Mark Potter (Editing)

(source: Reuters)