Warmer seas and shifting pressure systems: the signs that suggest the Mediterranean’s climate is ‘tropicalising’

Nowhere in the Iberian Peninsula or the Balearic Islands has a tropical climate – for this to be the case, the average temperature in the coldest month would have to be 18°C or higher. The contrast between Spain’s winters and summers, and the low temperatures reached in winter, do not resemble those of any tropical climate.

However, over recent decades, climates across Mediterranean basin have begun to show signs of tropicalisation: the process of transitioning towards a tropical climate.

This is evident in several areas, including rising air and sea temperatures, shifting…

© La Conversation - mardi 27 octobre 2026