An international team of researchers has confirmed that during the summer of 2022 the highest temperatures in the past 700 years were reached in Spain in research published in the journal Atmospheric Research. The study, with the participation of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), reveals an increase of 2.1ºC in the average temperature and a situation of extreme drought, especially in the northeast of the country.
According to the investigation, the exceptional nature of the temperatures reached during the summer of 2022 was marked by the persistence of an atmospheric situation that caused extreme temperatures to be reached. According to the MNCN researcher and one of the authors of the study, Ernesto Tejedor, adding to this fact was the arrival of extremely warm air masses from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula more frequently and more persistently than usual.”
The researchers compared the 2022 temperature and precipitation data with all the data recorded by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The analysis revealed a 3.3ºC increase in sea surface temperature; of 2.1ºC in the average temperature and an increase of four days in the duration of heat waves, which made the summer of 2022 the driest in the last 279 years.
Although, according to the research, the precipitation data during the summer of 2022 were similar to those usual during the summer periods in the Mediterranean, the research concludes that the persistence of high temperatures during the three summer months caused an increase in evapotranspiration. , which caused an extreme drought situation, especially in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula and along the Mediterranean coast.
Tejedor affirms that “in the last twenty years, heat waves and drought episodes in Spain have become more and more frequent.” He clarifies that "although the summer of 2022 represents an extreme anomaly in the country's climatic history, there is a pattern of increasingly warmer summers since the beginning of the 21st century", a trend that, according to the researcher, "increases the probability that this "anomaly is repeated every few years."
Researchers recall that the heat waves of the summer of 2003 already demonstrated Europe's vulnerability to rising temperatures, causing hundreds of deaths. Therefore, they warn of the need to take preventive political measures to mitigate the environmental, social and economic effects of the climate crisis. Likewise, they point out that, in the face of heat waves that increasingly tend to be more intense and persistent, new adaptation strategies will be needed to protect the population.
Scientists point out that the creation of climate refuges is essential. According to the conclusions of the study, having plans to protect the population from extreme temperatures is “especially important in cities that host vulnerable populations.” In these areas, the “urban heat islands” that are generated can have serious consequences for the most defenseless populations.
