Mediterranean region: ever drier by 2100

A new study suggests that the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean region will change precipitation and evaporation rates over land and sea, creating even drier conditions. A greater amount of atmospheric moisture will be lost from the region. Agriculture may suffer as a result, and the salinity of the Mediterranean Sea could increase.

The study suggests that many of the projected changes will have started by 2020-2049, with further changes gradually intensifying until 2070-2099.

Long-term changes project a decrease in precipitation and an equal increase in evaporation over the Mediterranean Sea, making the sea increasingly saline: the degree of salinity will depend on the inflow of fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean through the Gibraltar Strait.

Eleonora De Sabata

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Original pdf article by EU DG Environment