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CLIMATE CRISIS

MAP: The parts of Spain that are most and least affected by global warming

With more than 500 temperature records beaten this summer it's undeniably getting hotter across much of Spain. However, some cities and areas of the country are disproportionately affected by global warming, while others aren't.

MAP: The parts of Spain that are most and least affected by global warming
Seville is one of the areas most affected by climate change in Spain. Photo: JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Global warming is getting harder and harder to dispute, there’s no denying that temperatures are rising, particularly after living through the last couple of record-breaking years we’ve seen in Spain.

In 2022, Spain experienced its hottest year on record so far, including the hottest spring and the hottest month of October.

This year, 2023 continues to be a record-breaking year with the hottest April on record and at least five summer heatwaves where the mercury got up to the low 40s in several parts of the country.

READ ALSO: Spain sees staggering 552 temperature records broken this summer

Add this to the fact that severe drought has been affecting much of the country for the past year and the situation is not looking good. 

According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) data, the most significant temperature increase has occurred in the last 60 years. Since the pre-industrial period, the average temperature in Spain has increased by around 1.7C and since the 60s by 0.3C each decade.

READ ALSO: Is it worth living in Spain if the summers are so unbearably hot?

New data from the Sustainability Observatory Seventy has revealed that 70 percent of the Spanish population live in areas where the temperatures have risen more than 1.5C in the last 60 years.

The evolution of temperatures in Spain between 1961 and 2018. Source: Observatorio de Sostenibilidad
 

Where have temperatures risen the most?

One of the most important points to remember is that not everywhere in Spain is warming at the same rate.

One of the regions that has been the most affected is the Eastern Pyrenees. Of the nine municipalities that have already registered a temperature rise of more than 3C, six are in this area. These are Alp, Das, Fontanals de Cerdanya, Ríu de Cerdanya, Castellar de n’Hug and Llivia.

The province of Girona, in northern Catalonia, has registered the greatest amount of warming at 3.26C.

In total, more than 300,000 people, equivalent to 1 percent of the population and 3 percent of Spanish municipalities, have already experienced warming at this level.

Of the total number of municipalities, half of them have already seen a warming of more than 1.5C, which means that 70 percent of the Spanish population lives in these areas that have warmed beyond this number.

This leaves only 30 percent of inhabitants (equivalent to 49 percent of municipalities) in Spain living below that increase.

The map shows that the areas that have experienced the greatest increase in temperatures are located mainly in elevated areas of the interior plateaus and in the low coastal mountain areas, as well as on the Cantabrian coast and in Galicia.

Madrid, areas of Seville and Cádiz, parts of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands, particularly northern Tenerife, Lanzarote and El Hierro, are the parts of Spain that have seen their temperatures rise the most since 1961.  

A separate study from the Climate Shift Index revealed that Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Zaragoza are among the ten European cities most affected by climate change. 

Which areas in Spain have been least affected by global warming? 

The places where the temperatures have risen the least and will be affected by global warming to a much lesser degree have been marked in light yellow on the map. This represents a temperature rise of between 0C and 1.49C. 

These places are mainly located in northern Spain, but inland from the coastal areas. These include much of north and western Castilla y León, La Rioja, the southern parts of the Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturias, as well as the eastern part of Galicia. 

The other big area where temperatures have risen the least over the past 60 years is a large part of Andalusia, with the exception of the Guadalquivir Basin around Córdoba and Seville. 

The southern tip of Castilla-La Mancha, the western half of Murcia and the southern part of Valencia have also been marked in yellow, indicating that the temperature hasn’t risen significantly within the last 60 years. 

What does this mean for the future?

If these regions keep warming at a similar or faster rate than they have been since the beginning of the 60s, there may be large parts of the country that will become too hot to live in in the future. 

The head of the ocean ecology laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in the US, Carlos del Castillo, recently warned that Spain could break its current record of 47.6C and reach a scorching 50C or more.

He believes that if governments don’t drastically reduce emissions from fossil fuels, the country will suffer a greater number of heatwaves in the coming years.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

The parts of Málaga most affected by rising sea levels

Spanish climate experts have warned of a significant rise in sea level in several municipalities within the province of Málaga, including the Vélez-Málaga and Guadalmar areas.

The parts of Málaga most affected by rising sea levels

According to a recent report in the Official State Bulletin (BOE), sea level rises will be expected across the Andalusian province, but the areas around Vélez-Málaga and Guadalmar will be subject to severe increases by 2070. 

This comes after an April report by NASA found that sea levels have risen by five centimetres in Málaga province in the last three years and will rise by 50 centimetres by 2090.

The local government has already initiated several actions to try and alleviate the situation in Málaga and mitigate intense flooding.

According to expert predictions and government studies carried out between 1957 and 2022, coastal erosion has already begun and in the future, the coastline will begin where urbanisations, beach bars and restaurants currently stand.

This includes the hotel Parador del Campo de Golf de Málaga, as well as a wastewater pumping station.

Projected sea level increase in Málaga province in the next decades. Graph: NASA

The areas previously declared as flood-prone have also been updated and modified according to new data available.

READ ALSO: The Spanish cities that will be most affected by rising sea levels

The municipality of Vélez-Málaga, capital of the Axarquía region of quaint white villages, will be one of the worst-affected places, particularly around Torre del Mar and Caleta de Vélez.

Experts say that this problem has been going on for decades and will only get worse. Since 1957, the municipality has lost a total of 222,107 square metres of sand, due to the increase in storms derived from climate change.

From 2020, with a peak in 2022, the area also experienced an extreme drought, meaning that contributions of river sediments on the beaches are almost non-existent. If this trend continues, and if conditions do not change, it’s estimated that in 10 and 20 years, the stretch of coast on the left bank of the Vélez River will experience the greatest regression, with a maximum of 40 metres at 10 years and 70 metres at 20 years.

READ ALSO: Why are Barcelona’s beaches disappearing?

In Guadalmar, the coastline is expected to advance between 80 and 226 metres, due to the increase in sea level by 31 centimetres, according to a study carried out by Tragsatec, a public engineering group. As a consequence, researchers say that the waves are changing and more storms are eroding the beaches.

A significant portion of this coastline has already been lost to the sea this century, but since 2016 the regression of the coast has been even greater. In total, 223,495 square metres of beach have been lost in almost 70 years.

It is estimated that, if conditions do not change, in 10 to 20 years, the stretch of coast between San Julián beach and the golf course will see the greatest regression.

READ ALSO – MAP: The parts of Spain that are most and least affected by global warming

In order to deal with this issue, the Coastal Regulation has declared that no new title of occupation in the maritime-terrestrial public domain may be granted on land deemed to be at serious risk.

Existing constructions will be maintained as long as the sea does not reach them or there is a risk that it will. On land declared to be in a situation of serious regression, the government may carry out protection, conservation or restoration. For this, it may impose a special tax on people who benefit from these works.

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