Abstract
There is an increasing interest of scientists on climate extremes. A progressively larger number of papers dealing with climate issues have been produced in the past 15 yr, and those dealing with extremes have increased at an even faster pace. The number of papers on extremes in the Mediterranean follows this overall trend and confirms how extremes are perceived to be important by the scientific community and by society. This special issue (which is mainly related to activities of the MedCLIVAR (Mediterranean CLImate VARiability and Predictability) and CIRCE (Climate Change and Impact Research: the Mediterranean Environment) projects), contains thirteen papers that are representative of current research on extremes in the Mediterranean region. Five have precipitation as its main target, four temperature (one paper addresses both variables), and two droughts; the remaining papers consider sea level, winds and impacts on society. Results are quite clear concerning climate evolution toward progressively hotter temperature extremes, but more controversial for precipitation, though in the published literature there are indications for a future increasing intensity of hydrological extremes (intense precipitation events and droughts). Scenario simulations suggest an attenuation of extreme storms, winds, waves and surges, but more results are requested for confirming this future change.
Highlights
The purpose of this special issue is to publish a collection of new research contributions addressing description and understanding of climate extremes in the Mediterranean region and of their evolution
Results are included in part 1 of Regional Assessment of Climate Change in the Mediterranean (Navarra and Tubiana, 2013), which deals with analyses of the physical aspects of climate change in the Mediterranean region
It has further shown the complexity of these relationships and that it is unlikely that atmospheric circulation variability alone can explain the observed trends in hot temperature extremes and their amplification in the last decade
Summary
The purpose of this special issue is to publish a collection of new research contributions addressing description and understanding of climate extremes in the Mediterranean region and of their evolution. MedCLIVAR (Mediterranean CLImate VARiability and Predictability) operates as a scientific network, which is endorsed by CLIVAR and has been supported by the European Science Foundation for the period 2006–2011 This network (http://www.medclivar.eu) provides opportunities to discuss and disseminate scientific progress between different disciplines contributing to understanding the climate of the Mediterranean region and its evolution (Lionello et al, 2012a). In particular for “drought” papers, this number includes studies considering impacts of drought on other environmental and societal variables and the number of papers containing the word “drought(s)” is even larger than those containing the word “extreme(s)”, which in turn is comparable to those with the word “flood(s)” This clearly shows the large perceived relevance of droughts and, to a lesser extent, of floods in the Mediterranean environment.
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