A blowfish in Sardinia?

On the news last night they showed a report on how the effects of global warming are bringing about permanent changes in the Mediterranean weather and ecology.

Because of the increase in temperature, during the last decade the climate has increasingly become sub-tropical. During the summer months temperatures stabilize well above 30 degrees Celsius, with high humidity and short, violent thunderstorms.

As a consequence, we have seen a 2% increase of mortality over the past couple of years, which is directly related to the rise in temperature.

The sea levels are rising and therefore, eroding large portions of the beaches along the entire Mediterranean coastline.

In the past years, the fruit trees have been flowering two weeks earlier than normal.

The flight pattern of the migratory birds has been affected; they now migrate later, well into autumn, while some northern species actually remain within Europe instead of flying to northern Africa.

But perhaps the most astounding change of all has been the presence of increasing numbers of tropical fish, which are populating the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. These fish such as the blowfish and a number of colourful reef fish are not endemic to Europe. Yet, they’ve left the Red Sea through the Suez Canal and the coast of Egypt, traversing the Mediterranean, and started populating Italian waters.

Who needs to book a holiday in Sharm el Shayk?