Recent heatwaves as a prelude to climate extremes in the western Mediterranean region
Ernesto Tejedor, Gerardo Benito, Roberto Serrano‐Notivoli, J. Fidel González‐Rouco, Jan Esper, Ulf Büntgen
Abstract
The 2022 and 2023 western Mediterranean summer temperatures exceeded millennial natural variability, reaching unprecedented anomalies of +3.6 °C and +2.9 °C respectively. We show that anthropogenic climate change may turn extreme heatwaves from a rarity of 1 in 10,000 years into events occurring every 4–75 years, depending on future scenarios. This shift underscores the urgency of implementing adaptive strategies as extreme climate events manifest sooner and more intensely than expected.
Topics & Concepts
Mediterranean climateClimatologyGeographyClimate extremesClimate changeMeteorologyGeologyOceanographyPrecipitationArchaeologyClimate variability and modelsPlant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsTree-ring climate responses