The hot summer of 2023 has made us reflect on its impact on the Spanish Mediterranean and its key economic activities, on the environment and on our health, underlining the urgent need to take measures to adapt to changing climatic conditions.
Human influence on the earth’s climate has been a constant since the Industrial Revolution. The increasing emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has led to an increase in global temperature and alterations in other meteorological parameters, such as precipitation. This warming has been felt particularly strongly in the Mediterranean region, where an accentuated warm signal is recorded. In addition, this area is frequently impacted by extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and heat waves. Worryingly, several scientific studies have indicated that these extreme events will become more intense and/or frequent in the coming decades.
As we have been able to see, this summer of 2023 has given us a good ‘slap’ of heat. According to AEMET experts, it has come third on the list of the hottest summers since records began. It has only been surpassed by the summers of 2022 and the legendary 2003. During this summer, we have suffered four heatwaves that have subjected us to 24 days of sweltering heat. On average, the summer temperature has been 1.3ºC higher than usual. Daily highs have made us sweat, averaging 1.2ºC above normal. The minimums, which normally provide relief during the hot nights, have remained 1.4ºC above average (Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología).
This hot summer has made us think about how climate change affects key economic activities, the environment and our health, as well as the need to take measures to adapt to climate conditions. Climate change can negatively affect a wide range of socio-economic activities, and this is particularly important in climate-exposed sectors. A clear example of this is the densely populated coasts of the Spanish Mediterranean, where the blue economy – defined as those activities associated with the seas, oceans and coasts – represents an essential source of wealth and prosperity for the area, providing opportunities for growth, employment and investment. Therefore, developing a strategic vision for sustainable development, as well as ensuring policies and actions aimed at boosting the blue economy in the region, are of vital importance in the current context of climate change. In particular, aquaculture, fisheries and coastal tourism are relevant sectors of the blue economy for their contribution to the social and economic development of the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
This situation has given rise to the ECOAZUL-MED project, which aims to generate, for the first time, a web tool for public use that provides climate information to anticipate the effects of climate change on aquaculture, fisheries and coastal tourism, assuming different emission scenarios for the next 40 years on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The tool, which will be available in 2024, is being developed by combining quantitative methodologies – analysis of climate data – and participatory methodologies – including agents linked to these sectors in the different phases of the project to ensure that the tool responds to their needs. It will provide businesses, public administrations and other stakeholders with relevant climate information to enable the planning of these economic activities. It will also highlight the need for these sectors to adapt to climate change in order to ensure their sustainable development, which may be compromised by future climate conditions, as agents linked to the sectors have highlighted in the project. In this context, negative effects can be counteracted by implementing effective adaptation measures, based on informed decisions, aimed at minimising negative impacts and thus ensuring a better future.
Senior R&D&I Consultant and Climate Change Researcher