The Mediterranean region, hit by heat waves and wildfires, has now been declared by scientists as one of the hot spots of climate change. People, animals and nature, but also entire economic sectors in Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are under threat. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes the following five hazards:
Deadly heat waves
“Heat waves are increasing due to climate change in the Mediterranean and are intensifying in cities due to the impacts of urban living,” leading to disease and death, according to the 2022 IPCC report. The University of Bern calculated in 2010 that the intensity, length and number of heat waves in the eastern Mediterranean have increased sixfold to sevenfold since the 1960s.
endangered crops
After a drought in North Africa, farmers brace themselves for a terrible crop failure. “We have never experienced such a severe drought,” says Tunisian farmer Tahar Chaouachi, who grows wheat. “The past four years have been dry, but this year we expected rain. On the contrary, it has gotten worse.”
Since warm weather means groundwater is used to irrigate crops, a temperature rise of more than 1.5 degrees in the northern Mediterranean could mean a fifth fewer olives being harvested, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts. Since the 19th century, the temperature on earth has risen by 1.1 degrees. According to researchers at Stanford University, the Mediterranean region is experiencing “significant adverse impacts on most crops.”
Water scarcity
A drought in Spain sparked debates over water supplies ahead of Sunday’s general election. The European Drought Observatory said half of the Mediterranean had low water levels as early as June. The IPCC report warned that climate change will exacerbate water shortages “in most places” in the region. Lakes and drinking water reservoirs are expected to lose up to 45 percent of their water this century. In North Africa, up to 55 percent less surface water will be available.
The IPCC warns that the effects of climate change on land and marine ecosystems are also leading to loss of habitat and biodiversity.
Sea level rise
In recent decades, the sea level of the Mediterranean has risen by 2.8 millimeters per year, threatening coasts and cities like Venice, which are heavily exposed to tides. “Sea level rise is already impacting Mediterranean coasts and is expected to increase the risk of coastal flooding, erosion and salinization,” says the IPCC. “These impacts would harm agriculture, aquaculture, urban development, ports, tourism, cultural sites and many coastal ecosystems.”
invasive species
Climate change threatens not only the Mediterranean’s beloved beaches, but also the sea itself and fisheries. “Since the 1980s, ecosystems in the Mediterranean have been changing, which is reflected in the decline of biodiversity and the increase in invasive species” and can be attributed to climate change and other human activities, the IPCC explains. With global warming above 1.5 degrees, more than a fifth of fish and invertebrates in the eastern Mediterranean could become extinct by 2060. According to the report, fishing revenues could fall by as much as 30 percent by 2050.
Source: Krone
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