This is a very rare occurrence in Dalmatia, with temperatures this high, both air and sea temperature. There are always those extremely brave and persistent individuals who swim year-round, but this year it’s something else, Slobodna Dalmacija writes.
And it seems that the current warm weather is to continue well into November. These days, the sea temperature is 19° to 21° C along the coast, which is warm enough for a pleasant swim. Slavko Radilović, PhD, a forecaster of the State Hydrometeorological Institute in Split, says that the air temperatures of 24° to 25° degrees are here to stay for the upcoming days.
People from the islands tell Slobodna reporters how they’re picking their olives and going for a swim in the sea afterwords, which is something they’ve never experienced before. The forecaster Radilović confirms that the extreme situation is probably the result of global warming, which prolongs the period of relatively high temperatures all the way to September and October, so these weather conditions of the last few days are not strange either. The sea temperature goes up to 22 degrees because there is no wind, and as air temperatures get to 26 degrees, the sea can’t even cool down. The high-pressure field has been creating frequent fogs in the last ten days, both in continental Croatia and in some regions by the sea, such as around Zadar.
The upcoming two days will not see any wind, and when there is no wind, there is nothing to bring cold air. When the northern wind, so-called bura appears, it will bring some cold air from the continent, only then will the sea cool down. However, the forecast is that before that happens, the southern wind will bring rain to the region. Looking more broadly, he says that this October fits perfectly into the ten-year period of global warming.
