Effects of climate change in the Basque Country: 0.3 ° C more per decade, more heat waves and rising sea temperatures

The Basque Government, through the Ihobe Public Society and in collaboration with Euskalmet-Basque Agency for Meteorology, has published the first report "The Climate Situation in the Basque Country", which conducts a detailed analysis of the climate development of the territory from 1970 to 2023, that is, the year in which it has been recorded with the latest available data. This has been possible thanks to the records made by Euskalmet, which has been collecting data for 30 years, with greater local accuracy than that offered by the European Monitoring Programme.

Among the main conclusions, the report notes that the average temperature in the Basque Country has increased by 0.3 ° C per decade since 1970, and the warmest years have been recorded in 2022 and 2023. In addition, the number of days of heat waves has doubled, from 4 per year between 1970-2000 to almost 9 between 2014 and 2023.

The sea also shows some disturbing signs: the level has risen by about 2.5 mm annually since 1993, that is, more than 20 cm in the last two centuries, according to records made by the Brest mareographer in the Gulf of Bizkaia.

 The forecasts indicate an increase of between 51 and 100 cm to 2100 years, which particularly threatens the coastal population, where 60% of the Basque population lives.

On the Basque coast, the average temperature of the sea surface reached its historic peak in 2023, with an increase of 0.25 ° C per decade. Thermal anomalies exceeded the +1 ° C threshold compared to 1991-2020.

Although there has been no clear change in the annual rainfall rate and the frequency of extreme rains, it has been noted that there may be changes in the seasons and the rainfall regime in the future, which will affect the natural environment and agriculture, among others.

The report also stresses that although the Basque Country has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% since 2005, transport has increased by 135% since 1990.

All of this strengthens the commitment of the Basque institutions to adapt and mitigate climate change, including the Basque Energy Transition and Climate Change Act, the implementation of early warning systems and the deployment of demonstration projects at key points from the KAIA coordination table, such as Zarautz, Bakio, the Bilbao River or Txingudi.

Environment Vice Minister Josu Bilbao has warned that "the Basque Country could experience an increase of 5 ° C at the end of the century in the worst of situations, which could have serious consequences for people, infrastructure and the environment." From the Vice Chancellor of Civil Protection, Joana Egiluz has added that improving the network of observation and climate alert is "essential to reduce the damage of serious weather phenomena, which are becoming more frequent."

The report recalls that the economic damage caused by climate phenomena in the EU exceeded EUR 560 billion between 1980 and 2021, and that in a situation of +3 ° C the annual losses could be EUR 175 billion.