"ROME — The Mediterranean of our ancestors is no more.

Scientists say climate change, caused mainly by burning oil, coal and gas, is making the Mediterranean Sea hotter, bringing hundreds of new and invasive fish species that decimate indigenous populations.

As biodiversity diminishes, coastal communities will struggle to make ends meet in the ways they’ve known for generations.

“The Mediterranean of our grandfathers, of our elders, and of the Greeks, of ancient Greece is lost forever. So many of those changes are irreversible,” said Ernesto Azzuro, a marine biologist with the Italian National Research Council’s Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology."

Silvia Stellacci and Menelaos Hadjicostis report for the Associated Press July 30, 2026. [2]