Temperatures around the world are continually rising as the effects of climate change advance. Last year 2017 in Spain was one of the warmest in history. Exactly It was the second hottest in history, the first being the year 1965.
Do you want to know the data about this year 2017?
Summary of the year 2017
This year's average annual temperatures were the highest since 1965, with values of 16,2 degrees Celsius. In addition, it was a very dry year with only 474 liters per square meter of rainfall. These values are 27% lower than the normal mean.
According to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), temperatures in 2017 have increased by 1,1 degrees compared to the average annual value of the reference period 1981-2010 and by 0,2 degrees compared to the previous highest, recorded in 2011, 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, temperature records in history in Spain They show us the seriousness of this climatic situation.
Although the year began with a very cold January due to the cold waves that took place, February was very warm and spring was the same. Average spring temperatures they were 1,7 degrees higher than normal. In addition, the summer was also very warm, exceeding the average by 1,6 degrees, which adds to the driest summers in recent years.
During the fall, temperatures are expected to drop and rainfall to increase. But this hasn't been the case. Temperatures have remained 0,8 degrees above the seasonal average, and precipitation has been very low, exacerbating the effects of the drought, which is causing widespread damage. To better understand this situation, it's interesting to review how Climate change affects atmospheric phenomena.
December has been quite cold in character, reaching 0,4 degrees below the mean, but it has been caused by the fronts and cold waves that have taken place.
Waves of heat and cold
During the summer there have been frequent episodes in which the temperature has been much higher than normal, both on the peninsula and in the archipelagos. Three major heat waves have occurred. The first was registered between June 13 and 21 and mainly affected the west, center and northeast of the peninsula; the second took place between July 12 and 16, with the highest summer temperatures -up to 46,9 degrees in Córdoba or 45,4 in Badajoz– and which mainly affected the south and center of the peninsula, and the third between August 2 and 6, which mainly affected the south and east of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. This series of heat waves highlights how the Heat waves are linked to global warming.
On the other hand, 2017 has also had cold waves that have lowered temperatures. The cold wave that took place between January 18 and 20 affected the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands due to a continental air mass that caused the lowest temperatures of the year (-13,8 degrees in the Port of Navacerrada or -13,4 in Molina de Aragón).
Precipitation
The year 2017 joins another year of hydrological deficit that they build the most serious drought Spain has faced since 1995. In both autumn and spring, rainfall levels have been so low that this year is the second driest in the entire historical series, the first being 2005. Normal rainfall levels have only been exceeded, and only slightly, in an area that covers the north of the Basque Country and much of Navarre, as well as Mallorca and parts of Alicante. It is essential to consider that this drought situation is closely related to the alarming drought situation in Spain.
By contrast, were 25% lower These values have been reached in much of the southern half of the peninsula, large areas of Castile and León, Catalonia, the southern half of Aragon, the northern half of the Valencian Community, and areas in the west and east of Galicia, Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, the Canary Islands, and Ibiza. This drought situation is closely related to the effects of climate change on precipitation.
This year joins the warmest and driest affected by the growing effects of global warming, being the third warmest on record since the industrial revolution and greenhouse gas emissions began.
