Climate Change Supercharged Deadly Mediterranean Storms, Study Finds
A new study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network has concluded that human-driven climate change significantly intensified the extreme rainfall that battered the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco. The analysis found that precipitation during the region’s wettest days now unleashes approximately one-third more water compared to a pre-industrial climate that was 1.3°C cooler. This increase in intensity, estimated at up to 36% in northern Morocco since 1950, transformed the severe winter storms into devastating disasters. The impacts were severe and widespread. In northern Morocco, some areas received nearly a month's worth of rain in just three days, causing dams like Oued Makhazine to exceed capacity by 60% and leading to controlled water releases. Cities including Ksar El Kebir experienced major disruptions to transport, electricity, and water supplies. Similarly, in Spain and Portugal, torrential rains caused significant flooding, with rainfall exceeding 10 liters per square meter in regions like Galicia and the Basque Country. The storms were supercharged by 'atmospheric rivers' drawing moisture from a marine heatwave in the Atlantic. Despite the clear scientific link to a warming climate, the disasters have exposed a critical lack of preparedness. Experts have criticized the region's unwillingness to adapt to increasingly frequent extreme weather, with one Portuguese scientist stating, 'We are not prepared for the present climate, much less for the future.' The events underscore the urgent need for improved infrastructure and climate adaptation strategies to mitigate the growing threat of such 'dangerous disasters'.
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In northern Morocco, some locations recorded nearly a month’s worth of rainfall in three days. The Oued Makhazine dam exceeded its capacity by 60%, prompting controlled water releases downstream. Cities including Ksar El Kebir experienced disruptions to transport, electricity, water supply and schools, while parts of Safi Province, including Medina neighborhoods, were heavily affected. The study ...
‘A devastating force’: how recent storms turned to tragedies across the western Mediterranean | Extreme weather | The Guardian
Observational data show the most extreme rainfall days in Spain, Portugal and Morocco unleash one-third more water than they did in the 1950s, according to the WWA study, though climate models paint a more mixed picture.
Climate change fueled deadly rainstorms in Iberia, Morocco: scientists | Arab News PK
MADRID: Human-driven climate change ... across Morocco, Spain, and Portugal earlier this year, a network of climate scientists said Thursday. Precipitation during the region’s wettest days now entail around one-third more rainfall compared with the pre-industrial climate, which was 1.3C cooler, according to a report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), whose scientists study the link between ...
It’s official: Spain has been a total washout since October! Weather patterns becoming more ‘dangerous disasters’
Specifically, rainfall exceeded 10 l/m2 in Galicia, south-western Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, the westernmost Pyrenees and more isolated points of the Central System. Climate change has increased the intensity of torrential rains that caused flooding in Spain, Portugal and northern Morocco, according to an analysis by the international scientific group World Weather Attribution (WWA). Experts from different countries studied ...
Climate Change Intensifies Extreme Rainfall in Western Mediterranean, Says WWA
The WWA study focused on the most affected regions of northern Portugal/northwest Spain, southern Portugal/southwest Spain and northern Morocco. The researchers analysed one day maximum rainfall event from October to March and a 90-day maximum rainfall event in the same time period.
On Thursday, a team of international scientists published research showing that climate change intensified the rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula as well as neighboring Morocco, where the same storms displaced hundreds of thousands.
Portugal urged to adapt to climate emergency after series of deadly storms | Portugal | The Guardian
As the storms rage on, scientists and experts have criticised the country’s unwillingness to adapt to the bouts of extreme weather that have been plaguing the Iberian peninsula in recent years. “We are not prepared for the present climate, much less for the future,” said Pedro Matos Soares, ...
‘Dangerous disasters’: How human-made climate change ‘intensified’ Europe’s winter downpours | Euronews
While waters surrounding Iberia and Morocco are not abnormally warm, the report found that the storms were supercharged by “atmospheric rivers” which draw moisture from a strong to severe marine heatwave further west in the Atlantic. “This is exactly what climate change looks like: weather ...
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