Climate Change in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to climate change and is already being affected by a warming, drying climate. The impacts on the natural environment which are already being noticed include increased desertification, sudden floods and forest fires, all of which substantially affect biodiversity.

A recent ICCP report predicts with a very high level of confidence that Europe’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity will be substantially affected by climate change, and that the great majority of organisms and ecosystems are likely to have difficulty in adapting. They predict that within the Mediterranean, many temporary aquatic ecosystems will disappear, whilst permanent ones will get smaller. Additionally, according to their research the range of plants is very likely to expand northward as well as contract in southern European mountains and in the Mediterranean Basin. Furthermore, it is predicted that climate change is likely to cause a decrease in crop productivity in the region and result in an increase in water stress, which may be exacerbated further by heightened demand for irrigation water.

IUCN – the World Conservation Union reports that climate change is aggravating and increasing the risk of forest fires, whilst at the same time reducing the capability of Mediterranean forests to recover from them. Climate change trends in the Mediterranean provide ideal conditions for forest fires by provoking long and intense summer droughts, as well as extreme weather events, including high temperatures, air dryness and very strong winds. Additionally, sudden storms with heavy rainfall are also becoming more frequent which can lead to soil erosion in the burnt areas. This is likely to lead to changed vegetation with a decrease in tree cover and increase in shrublands.