Spain Could Lose Beaches to Global Warming
Date: 16-Feb-05
Country: SPAIN
Author: Itziar Reinlein and Emma Graham-Harrison
The country is particularly vulnerable to hotter weather because of its economy and geography, the environment ministry noted in a statement to present the research.
Spain already includes Europe's only desert, and tourism -- much of it beach-based -- accounts for more than 11 percent of the national economy.
"Over the last hundred years, Spain has warmed up 1.5 degrees Celsius, while the global average has been 0.6 degrees and the European one 0.95 degrees," the ministry said in a statement.
Summer, when temperatures have already soared to over 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit), could get up to 7 degrees hotter by 2070-2100 under the worst case scenario. The skiing and heating industries may worry about winters up to 4 degrees warmer.
Many of the country's beaches may be swamped by sea waters seen edging up 10 to 68 cm (4 to 27 inches) over the same period.
"With a general rise in the average sea-level, the most vulnerable zones are deltas and beaches. This could cause losses in an important number of beaches," the statement said.
It will rain less overall, but the risk of extreme weather including floods, heatwaves and fires will increase.
The tourist-magnet Balearic and Canary islands, and the southern part of the Iberian peninsula could lose over a fifth of their water supplies by the end of the century.
Higher temperatures will also alter natural ecosystems to the detriment of wildlife. Spain is home to rare species including lynx and bear as well as flocks of migrating birds.
Some 50 people working with 400 scientists, have drafted the initial report, which was released a day before the Kyoto Protocol on climate change comes into force.
Under the agreement developed nations are meant to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by an average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. In 2002, Spain was around 40 percent over the 1990 baseline.
