Unprecedented warmth: A look at Spain's exceptional summer of 2022

Serrano-Notivoli, Roberto (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Tejedor, Ernesto ; Sarricolea, Pablo ; Meseguer-Ruiz, Oliver ; Luis Arrillaga, Martín de (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Saz, Miguel Ángel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Longares, Luis Alberto (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Olcina, Jorge

Resumen: The warming of the global climate system is expected to result in significant socio-economic stress, primarily through the occurrence of extreme weather and climate events, with the potential for severe impacts on societies. This was evidenced by the vulnerability of European nations during the 2003 summer heatwave, which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of individuals due to heat-related complications. In this analysis, we examine the summer of 2022 in Spain, a Mediterranean country that is among the most impacted by the effects of climate change. A distinct pattern of the subtropical ridge in the 500 hPa geopotential height, which is typically linked to the occurrence of heatwaves in the Iberian Peninsula (IP), and the atmospheric blocking in the North Atlantic region facilitated the southerly flow of exceptionally warm air masses from Africa towards the IP, contributing to the sustained high temperatures throughout the summer season. Our results show that Spain experienced record-breaking temperatures in nearly half of the country that favored more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting heatwaves compared to previous historical records available from 1893. In general, despite normal rainfall conditions, the extremely high temperatures led to intense drought conditions in most areas. Finally, the paleoclimatic records suggest that the average summer temperature of 2022 was unprecedented within the last 700 years, and the driest within the last 279 in NE Spain. These findings highlight the need for measures to mitigate the effects of heat on at-risk populations, and to increase resilience and adaptation to climate change in the future.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106931

Año: 2023

Publicado en: ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH 293 (2023), 106931 [15 pp.]
ISSN: 0169-8095

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-034330-I

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Geografía Física (Dpto. Geograf. Ordenac.Territ.)
Área (Departamento): Área Análisis Geográfico Regi. (Dpto. Geograf. Ordenac.Territ.)