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The recent flash floods in Valencia are a tangible example of how extreme events linked to climate change are increasing in frequency, intensity, and duration, severely impacting the Mediterranean, a true climate "hotspot." In just a few hours, torrential rains delivered up to 490 mm of water—equivalent to an entire year’s rainfall—saturating the ground and overwhelming drainage systems. This event was fueled by the phenomenon known as DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos), where cold air at high altitudes meets warmer air below, creating intense and persistent thunderstorms.

The extreme heat in the Mediterranean, with record-breaking surface temperatures, contributed to amplifying the storm's power. Higher sea temperatures led to more intense evaporation, resulting in an atmosphere laden with moisture, ready to release as intense rainfall. This process, where part of the thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy, intensifies not only the rainfall but also the winds associated with the storm, making the impact even more devastating.

The "Mediterranean Climate Hotspot Map" by MEDSEA (2021) is a mapping of climate risk areas (hotspots) in the Mediterranean, identifying climate hot spots and coastal wetlands, which are essential for biodiversity and climate change adaptation.

The heavy human development along the Mediterranean coast makes this area particularly exposed, as highlighted in one of our recent studies on coastal risk and the impact of climate change, "Mediterranean Climate Hotspot Map" by MEDSEA. 

Valencia, located on Spain's eastern coast, is marked on the map as particularly vulnerable to climate change. Construction, infrastructure, and urbanisation in coastal and inland areas have reduced the soil's absorption capacity, increasing vulnerability to extreme events like marine flooding, which often compounds with inland flooding, creating a widespread risk along the entire coast. Yet, Valencia is not the only city at risk in the Mediterranean.

To address these extreme phenomena, it's crucial to enhance the resilience of territories and communities by adopting effective adaptation measures. Nature-based solutions (NsB), such as protecting wetlands, forests, and natural water expansion areas, are optimal options for mitigating the impact of these events.

At MEDSEA, we have long been committed to restoring and improving the ecological health of marine and coastal ecosystems, including the vital wetlands, which can absorb excess water faster than other soils, contain it, slow runoff, and mitigate damage from large-scale events. Through Wetland4Change, an Interreg Euro-MED project, with Spain and the University of Valencia as partners and a pilot site at Albufera Lagoon, we are testing two adaptation solutions thanks to wetlands: one focused on flood and inundation regulation and another on carbon storage. Coincidentally, at the end of the month, on November 28-29, we will have the project meeting in Valencia with all partners, where we will discuss natural solutions to flooding through wetlands.

Never before has research transitioned so clearly into reality, underscoring the importance of all ongoing work and the urgency to take this issue seriously, even beyond the field of professionals. In Sardinia, with the TransformAR project, we are making flood prevention solutions tangible for the fishing industry, installing monitoring sensors in the San Giovanni lagoon.

Reshaping territories to better respond to extreme climate events has become a priority to protect communities and preserve Mediterranean ecosystems.

We are all at risk!