The Mediterranean Sea’s rising temperatures and the widespread urban development in flood-prone areas of Valencia have exacerbated the impact of the recent catastrophe, which left nearly 100 dead on Tuesday, October 29, and Wednesday, October 30. This devastation followed a « cold drop » weather event in southeastern Spain, according to Antonio Aretxabala, a geologist at the University of Zaragoza and an expert in natural disasters.
Why do torrential rains and floods in southeastern Spain appear to be increasingly destructive?
The Mediterranean Sea’s temperature continues to rise due to climate change, breaking records again this summer. As a result, the atmosphere is warmer and holds more water vapor.
When the Levant wind – warm and humid from the Mediterranean – encounters a cold air mass from the North Pole, as it did this past Tuesday, it creates an isolated high-altitude depression, or « Dana » in Spanish, also known as a « cold drop. » This leads to torrential rainfall. The warmer air, now filled with millions of tons of water due to the higher temperatures, resulted in an exceptional downpour around Valencia. Over eight hours, nearly 500 liters per square meter of rain fell, a total usually seen in an entire year.
Source: lemonde
