Way back when during the days when Kevin Murphy, Michael Reed, and Alison Streeter were churning out English Channel crossings like Michael Phelps was winning Olympic medals, the water in the English Channel was rarely above 16°C. Last year, the water temperature on the French side rose up towards 20°C during some crossings.
Water temperatures around the world are rising, although there are some (many?) people who do not believe in the phenomenon of global warming.
But water temperatures this week around Florida have pushed to some of the highest levels ever observed anywhere at any time. Florida Bay water was recorded at 101.1°F (38.3°C) at a depth nearly 2 meters. Water temperature in other areas in Florida topped 96°F (35.5°C), according to the National Data Buoy Center.
Pretty scary whether you are a swimmer or not. It is bound to impact negatively everything from coral reefs to various kinds of fishing species
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