The earth is angry in the Mediterranean region. The earthquakes in Syria, Morocco, and Turkey; the wildfires in Greece and Spain; and the floods in Libya show that Mother Nature is anything but at ease in the Mediterranean region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nature\u2019s anger has been shown in different fashions to our ancestors in different corners on Planet Earth. Humans have always devised means to cope with changes in ideas, technology, and nature\u2019s means of communication with them. Thanks to human ingenuity, they have talked back to nature and so will we. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning there was drought:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Drought has been invading different Mediterranean landscapes causing much damage to agriculture and drawing a grim picture of the prospects of sustainability on both banks of the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate change, reduced rainfall, urbanization, population growth, and increased production have exacerbated the issue of drought in the Mediterranean region<\/a>. In Spain, levels of water scarcity in regions like Galicia, Castilla y Le\u00f3n, and Andaluc\u00eda are worse than in many parts of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A hotspot for climate change, the Mediterranean is expected to be eaten up<\/a> by drought in the coming decades, which raises the risks of permanent aridity in some areas, reduced agricultural yields and water stream flows, and conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The susceptibility of the Mediterranean to drought is due to<\/a> its geographic location near the Great Shara and the expansion of the Hadley cells, which drive arid zones further north towards the South Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The waning cloud cover is leaving the Mediterranean surface exposed to solar radiation and increased evaporation. These changes are taking their toll on the region with its African and European banks. It is enough to go on a drive outside Spain\u2019s cities to see how drought is affecting the Spanish landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2022 winter in Tunisia did not record significant rainfall. In an unusual scene<\/a>, Tunisian beaches were invaded by swimmers and sunbathers last December and January. In March 2022, the Tunisian authorities announced restrictions on certain water usages due to a 32,1% dam filling rate, which approximates the 33% rate in Morocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The economic impact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain\u2019s GDP is expected to drop by 2.63% due to the economic impact of a 39% reduction in reservoirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With most North African economies heavily dependent on agriculture, drought is likely to devastate these economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n