Spain and Portugal dry: Azores threatens high wine and olive production

Spain and Portugal are dry
The Azores are a major threat to wine and olive production

07/04/2022, 10:12 pm

The Azores high pressure area has been changing for about 200 years. An American study says that the reason for this is climate change. As a result, not only will Spain and Portugal dry up, but wine and olive production may also decline significantly in the coming decades.

Parts of Spain and Portugal have been dry for over a thousand years. This is due to climate change-induced shifts in the Azores high pressure area, which could have serious consequences for wine and olive production, according to a study published in the journal “Nature Geoscience”.

The Azores High, a high pressure area in the Atlantic, has a major influence on weather and long-term climate trends in Western Europe. In summer, the Azores High sends warm, dry air to Portugal, Spain, and France. In winter it brings humidity and rainfall. According to the study’s authors, winter precipitation is “crucial” for the ecological and economic health of the Iberian Peninsula.

Using climate modeling over the past 1,200 years, US researchers have now found that the high pressure system has “changed dramatically” over the past century and that “these changes in the North Atlantic climate are unprecedented in the last millennium”.

Less and less rainfall

According to them, the high pressure system began to expand over a larger area about 200 years ago as greenhouse gases increased. In the 20th century, it expanded further due to global warming. However, the amount of precipitation decreased – winters were dry in the western Mediterranean. Previous studies have been unable to show whether human-made climate change is responsible for changes in the climate in the North Atlantic — and now the authors say they’ve found a link.

The Azores High will spread further in the 21st century due to climate change. By the end of the century, rainfall in the region is expected to decrease by another 10 to 20 percent, which could have catastrophic consequences for agriculture. Wine-growing areas in the Iberian Peninsula could shrink by at least a quarter by 2050. According to previous studies, the olive harvest in southern Spain could decrease by 30 percent by 2100.