JERUSALEM, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Mediterranean Sea's upper layer is warming at a rate of 0.13 degrees Celsius a year because of global warming, an Israeli report said Monday.
The report, issued by Israel's energy and environmental protection ministries and the state-owned Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute, said the rate is much higher than the global forecast of 0.055 to 0.069 degrees Celsius a year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report was based on 40 years of observations.
The report also found that the sea level rose by 14.59 centimeters between 1992 and 2022, averaging 4.7 millimeters a year. That's higher than the global average rise of 3.25 millimeters a year measured by the IPCC between 1993 and 2018.
The statement said the rise is caused by global warming and the melting of glaciers, which affect the Mediterranean Sea along with local factors.
The report said seawater acidification continues at a slow rate of -0.003 pH units a year, affecting various biological processes, especially the development of marine creatures' skeletons, such as corals and oysters.
The report said plastics account for 90 percent of Israel's coastal pollution and highlighted the buildup of plastic waste in the deep seabed, reaching areas untouched by humans. ■
