A new record: temperatures are so high, that yesterday Gavarda (a town in the Valencian Country) registered the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe in January: 30.7°C (87.26°F). This would usually be the expected temperature in early May. The previous record was set in 2021 (29.8°C in Alacant). We are record after record, and it's not good.
This adds on the drought that the Catalan Countries have been suffering for 3 years. We have water use restrictions and many farmers have lost the harvests for months because they're not allowed to water the fields. And there's no prospect for generous rain any time soon. Experts have been warning that for every degree Celsius that temperatures rise in the Mediterranean region, annual rain will reduce by 4%, and since we're a region that is already naturally prone to summer droughts, this will mean 20% less water resources.
The Mediterranean region is one of the places in the Earth that heats the most because of climate change. There will be 40% more days with extreme heat (days with temperatures higher than 35°C=95°F), which will have effects on health, particularly on open-air workers, and will suppose a 17% decrease in agriculture produce. That is, without counting rising sea levels.
The Mediterranean region is inhabited by 400-500 million people, out of which 150 million live on the coast. Experts calculate that the sea will have risen 1 meter (it's not out of the question that it might have risen even more if polluting emissions aren't reduced) by the end of the century. Considering that 37% Mediterranean coast is very low, on sea level, this means that this rise of the Mediterranean sea will put about 42 million people in extreme danger. One of the first victims will be (and is already suffering the early effects) the Delta of the Ebro river, a mostly-agricultural area in the South of Catalonia which is also a Biosphere reserve due to its great biodiversity.
And some people still say climate change isn't real 🤦
