Mediterranean climate regions of the world are located in transitional midlatitude zones like the Mediterranean basin, western North America and small coastal areas of western South America, southern Africa and southern Australia. This transitional character makes them highly exposed to climate change, and they have been already experiencing significant shifts due to global warming, including hotter, drier summers and more erratic precipitation. These changes heighten risks such as prolonged and recurrent droughts and wildfires, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and threats to sectors such as agriculture and human health. In response, adaptation strategies are emerging worldwide—ranging from water-efficient farming and wildfire management to urban greening, ecosystem restoration, and policies promoting climate resilience.
This session intends to strengthen exchanges among the communities studying the Mediterranean climate regions of the world. The goal is to promote a multi-disciplinary approach to identify and prepare shared solutions and practices, to safeguard both natural systems and human livelihoods in one of the world’s most climate-sensitive regions. Understanding the past, characterizing the present and modeling the future are essential steps to estimate the risks and to assess the impacts of climate changes, including solutions for sustainable adaptation. Studies of observed past changes and/or future climate projections focused on physical (including extremes, teleconnections, hydrological cycle) and biogeochemical (including biodiversity) aspects of Mediterranean climate regions are welcome. Similarly, climate change related social aspects, including indigenous knowledge in mitigating climate risks, are well received. Analyses where multiple Mediterranean climate-type regions are considered and compared are highly appreciated.
As a multidisciplinary MedCLIVAR session, we encourage contributions from a broad range of disciplines and topics dealing with dynamics and processes of the climate system, sectoral impacts of climate change, climate change adaptation and innovative methods and approaches in climate sciences.