18 Apr, 2025 @ 12:15
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Spain is set to lose its Mediterranean climate by 2050 as swathes of the country turn to desert

Drought fears grow as dry spell continues in Spain’s Malaga
Will Spain turn to desert?

A SHOCKING new study reveals that by 2050, Spain will no longer have its iconic Mediterranean climate. Instead, much of the country will fall under the harsh classification of ‘steppe’ and even ‘desert’ climate as rainfall dries up.

The research, conducted by the Centre for Land Policy and Valuations at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, paints a grim picture of what’s in store. As the Mediterranean and Balearic regions continue to heat up, it’s clear Spain’s climate will be unrecognisable in just a few decades.

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According to the study, rainfall is expected to plummet by between 14% and 20% compared to current levels. The Mediterranean climate will go from covering 24% of Spain to just 10% by 2060. Meanwhile, desert-like conditions will increase dramatically, expanding from a tiny 1% of the country to a whopping 10% by 2050. The Mediterranean coast and the Ebro Valley will bear the brunt of this transformation.

Experts are sounding the alarm, as the study contradicts previous research which suggested a less severe shift. The team from the Polytechnic University warns that unless things change, Spain will become much hotter and drier, dominated by steppes and desert terrain – a stark contrast to the lush Mediterranean landscape that many associate with the country.

In short, Spain is heading for a future where sunny beaches could be replaced by barren wastelands, and the country’s iconic olive trees and vineyards could become a thing of the past. The Mediterranean may soon be a distant memory.

Dilip Kuner

Dilip Kuner is a NCTJ-trained journalist whose first job was on the Folkestone Herald as a trainee in 1988.
He worked up the ladder to be chief reporter and sub editor on the Hastings Observer and later news editor on the Bridlington Free Press.
At the time of the first Gulf War he started working for the Sunday Mirror, covering news stories as diverse as Mick Jagger’s wedding to Jerry Hall (a scoop gleaned at the bar at Heathrow Airport) to massive rent rises at the ‘feudal village’ of Princess Diana’s childhood home of Althorp Park.
In 1994 he decided to move to Spain with his girlfriend (now wife) and brought up three children here.
He initially worked in restaurants with his father, before rejoining the media world in 2013, working in the local press before becoming a copywriter for international firms including Accenture, as well as within a well-known local marketing agency.
He joined the Olive Press as a self-employed journalist during the pandemic lock-down, becoming news editor a few months later.
Since then he has overseen the news desk and production of all six print editions of the Olive Press and had stories published in UK national newspapers and appeared on Sky News.

1 Comment

  1. Oh dear ! We now have to suffer Climate Porn Drivel on O.P. as well. I’ve been following the Climate Disaster industry for well over half a century ( back in the 70s when it was Global Cooling with the English Channel freezing over and Siberian wolves crossing into Surrey). I will file this article along with wine production in Scotland to rival Bordeaux by the year 2000 and Sahara sand dunes covering Marseille by 2005. Have you noticed all those anonymous “experts” telling us last Autumn that Málaga will become “uninhabitable” with drought by 2030 are strangely silent now that the reservoirs are 100% full a few months later. They are probably now preparing articles about Málaga becoming uninhabitable due to excess flooding. Undoubtably the Poly in Catalunya will now be assured of large grants to continue churning out this “research” ( if, of course, Barcelona doesn’t sink beneath the waves by 2040 because, to quote them, “something” hasn’t “changed”). Meanwhile in the real world normal people have to get on with their lives. There is never a word from these self-appointed prophets about the positive effects of, say, CO2. ( You have to read the reports of real climate scientists – you know, the boring ones which are difficult to read ). You might learn about the 16% extra greening of the planet, or huge gains in crop production in countries which need it. Real scientists tell us that the Roman era was much warmer than it is today, so the next time you are marvelling at the theatre in Mérida or the aqueduct in Segovia, think about how the Romans on the Peninsula did pretty well in a warmer world. We can to. ( and incidentally, the Romans did grow grapes in Scotland – for a while at least ).

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