Balearic temperatures are rising by five or six degrees per century

Joan Collins AVERAGE temperatures recorded in the Balearics are showing an upward trend of between five and six degrees Celsius every 100 years, according to a new study. The study was compiled by the Meteorological group from the Physics Department in the UIB (Balearic University) and was commissioned by the Balearic Government's Office for Climate Change. The study also shows that the average annual rainfall is also decreasing by approximately 200 millimetres per century, which means that there will be a 29 percent reduction in annual rainfall in the Balearics in 2106. At the same time, the temperatures are increasing by an average of five degrees for every 100 years. This study, compiled from records kept over the last 30 years in weather stations all over the islands, shows a trend towards an average rise of five degrees in maximum temperatures and six degrees in minimum temperatures. Professor Romualdo Romero, who put the report together, said that the figures “are only observations, we can't make calculations or predictions about the future; we can only say that it is showing a trend”. This trend, according to the Professor, is to make the Balearic climate more “extreme.” “Global warming is a fact, and various studies show that the Mediterranean is one of the areas most sensitive to its effects”, he said. The consequences, according to the same study presented by the Balearic Ministry for the Environment, are also making themselves felt in the rainfall. According to data for the last 50 years in 21 different weather stations, the average annual rainfall on the islands has dropped by 167 millimetres in 100 years, which means a loss of 30 percent during the same period of time. In addition to this, and as shown by the “extreme condition” of the climate, the number of rainy days (with either only slight or torrential rain) has increased, while the number of days with moderate rainfall has decreased.