‘The Adriatic is becoming tropical’: Italian fishers struggle to adapt to warm sea

Sticky mucilage made of microalgae covers the surface and fishing is impossible as waters reach 30C

Almost every morning, Daniele Montini and his wife Alfreda take a stroll in the shallow waters of the Adriatic Sea. The ritual, followed by many residents in Fano, a coastal town in Italy’s central Marche region, is advised by doctors to stimulate blood circulation and maintain a healthy respiratory system through breathing in the salty air.

It is 7.30am and the outside temperature is already a muggy 29C. The couple, who were born in Fano, know that their summers, and their winters, are being transformed by global heating. What they are not quite used to is the stagnant, much warmer sea.