The Floods This Time: In the Mediterranean, Climate Change Is Already Here
Short, heavy rainfall is typical of the Mediterranean, but like many of the climate extremes in recent years, including the current fires in Los Angeles, nothing is typical about what has been happening there recently.
In the autumn, deadly floods wreaked havoc along an arc from Spain to the Balkans, and from Morocco to Libya. More than 200 people were killed in Valencia in October, not long after a deluge dumped five times the month’s ordinary rainfall across Europe in a single week.
Scientists say climate change is increasing not just the strength of the Mediterranean’s devastating storms but also the frequency — and they predict that it will get only worse.
The coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin have always been prone to extreme precipitation, especially in places where there are mountains near the sea.
Note: The map shows daily accumulated precipitation for the 99th percentile (top 1 percent) of recorded wet days for the time period.
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