VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – More than 100 consecutive days without rain and temperatures reaching 41.2°C. In Malta, an extreme summer has coincided this year with a worrying development: no sea turtle has successfully completed nesting on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Several turtles reached the beaches but later abandoned their attempts to lay eggs.
The environmental organisation Nature Trust Malta has declared the sea turtle nesting season over, while volunteers will continue patrolling the beaches until the end of August. Marine biologist Alan Deidun, speaking to MaltaToday, said the absence of successful nesting in Malta should not be considered an isolated phenomenon.
Among the possible factors, he pointed to disturbance from human activities, changes in Mediterranean currents and rising sand temperatures. Sea temperatures, currently around 30°C, could also alter turtles’ migratory routes. Warmer sand can also affect the ratio of males to females at hatching.
Malta recorded six nests in 2025 and eight in 2024. According to Nature Trust, this year’s outcome shows how much climatic and environmental conditions are changing and how difficult it has become to take sea turtle nesting on Malta’s shores for granted.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
