Marine scientists studying the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean Sea have called for measures to curb pollution contributing to global warming, noting that the sea’s temperature has risen two degrees in the past 25 years and is at risk of rising further if action is not taken.

“This is a large increase for this period of time,” according to Evangelos Papathanassiou, research director at the Hellenic Center for Marine Research.

Temperature rises are not so sharp in the depths of the sea, according to Papathanassiou, who is more concerned about the quality of water along the coast where pollution levels are high.

Papathanassiou and other marine scientists have been studying the temperature of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea aboard the Aigaio oceanographic vessel. The Aigaio went on an initial exploratory voyage in March and is currently conducting a second study off the coast of Sicily. The scientists say the Adriatic Sea has seen an even larger temperature hike of around four degrees Celsius.