Terrifying reason tragedies like Sicily yacht disaster will happen again and again

More awful tragedies at sea - like the sinking of superyacht Bayesian - will happen again and again unless the world fights climate change now, experts have warned.

Mike Lynch, who was described as "Britain's Bill Gates" for his success in the tech industry, and his teenage daughter were among the seven people killed after the vessel was struck in a powerful storm last month. It is thought the weather caused a freak water spout, which develop downwards in thunderstorms, and this struck the boat's huge mast.

Freak storms have happened across the Mediterranean this summer and last due to climate change, meteorologists have told the Mirror. A fierce storm battered Formentera, a small Balearic Island, on Wednesday August 14, sinking several boats. Dramatic footage seen by the Mirror shows at least one sailing vessel sent crashing into rocks because of the sheer force of the wind. One experienced fisherman wrote online the storm was "every sailor's worst nightmare."

And a rare storm, known as a Medicane (Mediterranean hurricane), pounded western Greece at the end of August. Streets were flooded, trees uprooted and residents across the Ionian islands of Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca experienced power cuts.

These are happening because climate change is causing temperatures to rise - to hotter than 40C in places this summer - and so huge amounts of energy are in the atmosphere above land and sea across the Mediterranean, climate change experts told us. This is making storms more intense and the consequences could continue to be catastrophic.

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Professor Yoav Yair, Dean of the School of Sustainability at Reichman University in Israel, told the Mirror: "I am very concerned about this. It is not a matter of if this (the Bayesian disaster) will happen again, but rather it's when and where.

"In the last couple of years we have seen medicanes - Mediterranean hurricanes - which are a new phenomena. These are hurricane-like storms that pack a lot of energy, and create flash flooding, torrential rains, lightning, hail and severe sustained winds. The 2023 "Daniel" medicane destroyed Libya and caused over 30,000 deaths there. The sea surface temperature has risen globally and in the Med as well, charging the atmosphere with increased fluxes of water vapor, which means a higher potential for massive storms.

"In the eastern coast of the Med, between Cyprus and Israel, we had some massive thunderstorms last April, when the number of flashes we picked up with our lightning detection system was more than 400,000 in 24 hours, which is totally off of the charts.

"I would argue that we have seen considerably more unusual or severe events that constitute deviations from the normal. These have become more noticeable because we are in a disrupted state (of climate change)... So most definitely climate change plays a role. The Mediterranean basin is a climate change hotspot, and is warming faster than most regions on Earth. Already, we exceed the global average and are warmer by +1.5C, compared to the 1951-1980 average, which is usually considered the benchmark for comparison."

The bodies of Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel, along with Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were recovered among the wreckage of the Bayesian, one of the world's largest sailing yachts.

Mr and Mrs Morvillo, and Mr and Mrs Bloomer did not drown, but instead suffocated to death in air bubbles that filled with carbon dioxide, it was claimed this week. The four tourists reportedly had no water in their lungs, raising the harrowing possibility they may have been conscious as the yacht sank.

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica claimed the lungs of banker, Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy were "not full of water and neither were their stomachs or trachea". They have also reported that the couple "suffocated" after oxygen ran out in an air bubble below deck that had formed after the yacht sank. Dr Lynch also died of suffocation due to a lack of oxygen, his autopsy on Saturday showed.

Around 12mm of rain was forecast to fall in just three hours across Porticello, Italy, near where the boat was anchored overnight on Sunday August 18 to Monday August 19. Downpours and gusts battered the boat, which is understood to have capsized.

Speaking to the Mirror, Dr Pedro Beltran-Alvarez, senior lecturer in Health and Climate Change at University of Hull, said he was "not surprised" to see the recent frequency of intense storms across Italy and nearby countries. He said the Mediterranean is "one of the most vulnerable" areas of the world to the impact of climate change.

The academic, who has worked at University of Hull for nine years, continued: "It is not surprising that we are in this situation. The Mediterranean is one of the most vulnerable places to climate change. It is vulnerable because of the latitude, the position it is in really so there is nothing we can do about it in terms of the geography of this region.

"Extreme weather events are expected to increase over the next decade or so, and that is because of climate change. There could be more tragedies like that in Sicily and people who are particularly vulnerable to megastorms, for example, are people living by the sea, so fishermen, people going on yachts, or people travelling by sea or people going on cruises. So the key, I think, is to know your vulnerabilities.

"I think something like 90 per cent of the general population in the UK is either concerned or very concerned about climate change. In my professional field, climate change is accepted as the biggest health threat to humanity this century so everyone in public health knows climate change is the greatest challenge to public health. I am reasonably concerned based on the science but this also presents an opportunity to tackle it.

"I spent a few weeks in Catalonia each summer and see first-hand the impacts of climate change. I think this year the hottest day where I was 43C. It is really difficult to do anything between 1pm and 6pm, and there is concern there for vulnerable people. Everyone is vulnerable to climate change but specific groups of the population are particularly vulnerable, especially the elderly or those dementia, for example, but climate change is, I always say, inclusive by design."

Italian authorities have expanded their investigation into the deaths of the seven people on the yacht to include two crew members as well as the captain, according to news agencies in the nation.

The investigation is now said to include ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith. Being investigated does not equate to being charged and is a procedural step. Currently, the Bayesian rests on its right side at a depth of approximately 50m (164ft).

An armed guard assigned to Dr Lynch during his US trial - after which he was cleared of fraud charges - recently spoke of their unlikely friendship. Rolo Igno said he believes Mike and Hannah "woke up in a better place". He spoke of Hannah as a "beautiful soul" and of Dr Lynch as "one of the most extraordinary individuals I've ever known".

Mr Igno said: "I don’t know what everyone’s beliefs are, but I believe that Mike and Hannah woke up in a far better place. Till we see each other again. Hannah, take care of your daddy up there for me. Down here, I’ve got your mom and sister."

Mr Igno said the last time he saw Dr Lynch, he had thanked him for opening his Chelsea home, his Loudham (Suffolk) estate and "beloved Bayesian" to him and his family.

He added: "Over the past year, I had the privilege of spending almost every waking moment with Mike while he was in custody in San Francisco. I was part of the security detail, tasked with ensuring he didn’t escape and flee the country. It was unlike any other detail that I’ve ever worked and would later discover a life-changing one."