The two scientists speak of a general environmental deterioration in the Mediterranean, and due to the increase in temperature there will be widespread droughts and a decrease in water reserves.
Droughts, heavy rainfall, rising sea levels and pollution will increasingly affect the Mediterranean basin, which is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. This was pointed out at COP29 in Azerbaijan by the experts Piero Lionello, from the University of Salento, and the adviser on climate and rural development, Abdel Monem, presenting two reports, for which they coordinated the contributions of fifty-five scientists from seventeen countries, following an invitation from the Union for the Mediterranean, i.e. the Conference of the European Union with 16 countries of the Mediterranean basin.
Referring to the main conclusions of these two reports, the French newspaper Le Monde underlines that they sound the alarm for the Mediterranean basin, and the 540 million people in its region, noting that if there is no reduction in the so-called greenhouse gases, capable to limit to 1.5 degrees Celsius the average increase in temperature during the next two decades, then considered extreme weather events, such as recent “apocalyptic rainfall” in the region of Valencia, Spain, will intensify. At the same time, the two experts predict that basic infrastructure projects in the European Mediterranean will be threatened by floods.
The two scientists also talk about a general environmental deterioration in the Mediterranean basin pointing out that due to the increase in temperature there will be widespread droughts and a decrease in fresh water reserves. They also refer to plastic waste, noting that it is 100% floating and 50% submerged. They also note that during the last two decades heatwaves have increased in the Mediterranean by 40% and that 15% have been of long duration. Which results, among other things, in the death of corals, sponges, molluscs, echinoderms, etc., but also in the proliferation of jellyfish. Finally, the effects are also significant in the field of agricultural production, where problems are already being observed in olives, grapes, grains, fruits and vegetables. Something which, as the two scientists report, will also have implications in the area of food security for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean.
Source: Skai
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