Desertification
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The region, with its already arid climate, is feeling the full force of global warming. Landscapes are becoming deserted by extreme heat and drought, and water is becoming increasingly scarce in the soil.
Desert lands devoid of trees and where only a few stretches of grass flourish. In the Mediterranean basin, under the weight of climate change, the beautiful flowery and lush landscapes are being transformed at high speed. Rising temperatures and more frequent and fierce heat waves are irremediably drying out the soil and flora. “Southern Europe is becoming increasingly arid and is gradually turning into steppes. In Spain there are already desert areas where the vegetation is dry and the trees no longer grow,” explains Joël Guiot, research director at the CNRS and coordinator of the network of researchers studying the effects of global warming in the Mediterranean, MedECC.
In fact, the Mediterranean region, dominated by a subtropical climate, is one of the regions of the world most exposed to increased droughts and one of the most vulnerable to climate change. “Temperatures are rising a lot there, everywhere, and at a very rapid rate,” summarises Yves Tramblay, research director at the Institute of Research for Development in Montpellier and author, in the sixth IPCC report, of the chapter on the Mediterranean region. Compared to the pre-industrial era, the area has warmed by 1
