RT Journal Article
T1 High temporal variability not trend dominates Mediterranean precipitation
A1 Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M.
A1 Tramblay, Yves
A1 Reig, Fergus
A1 González-Hidalgo, José C.
A1 Potopová, Vera
A1 Beguería, Santiago
A1 García Herrera, Ricardo Francisco
A1 Barriopedro Cepero, David
A1 Garrido Pérez, José Manuel
A1 Brunetti, Michele
AB State-of-the-art climate models project a substantial decline in precipitation for the Mediterranean region in the future1. Supporting this notion, several studies based on observed precipitation data spanning recent decades have suggested a decrease in Mediterranean precipitation2–4, with some attributing a large fraction of this change to anthropogenic influences3,5. Conversely, certain researchers have underlined that Mediterranean precipitation exhibits considerable spatiotemporal variability driven by atmospheric circulation patterns6,7 maintaining stationarity over the long term8,9.These conflicting perspectives underscore the need for a comprehensive assessment of precipitation changes in this region, given the profound social, economic and  environmental implications. Here we show that Mediterranean precipitation has largely remained stationary from 1871 to 2020, albeit with significant multi-decadal and interannual variability. This conclusion is based on the most comprehensive dataset available for the region, encompassing over 23,000 stations across 27 countries. While trends can be identified for some periods and subregions, our findings attributethese trends primarily to atmospheric dynamics, which would be mostly linked to internal variability. Furthermore, our assessment reconciles the observed precipitation trends with Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 model simulations, neither of which indicate a prevailing past precipitation trend in the region. The implications of our results extend to environmental, agricultural and water resources planning in one of the world’s prominent climate change hotspots10.
PB Nature Publishing Group
SN 0028-0836
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/120143
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/120143
LA eng
NO Vicente-Serrano, S.M., Tramblay, Y., Reig, F. et al. High temporal variability not trend dominates Mediterranean precipitation. Nature 639, 658–666 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08576-6
NO Artículo firmado por 68 autores.
NO Gobierno de España
NO European Commission NextGenerationEU
NO CSIC’s Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform Clima (PTI-Clima)
NO GLANCE ‘AGricultural Land AbandoNment
NO IRD IRN RHYMA
NO Istanbul Technical University (ITU)
NO Cimisión Europea Horizon 2020
DS Docta Complutense
RD 17 may 2025