BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The recent devastating flooding in Spain's Valencia region is a stark reminder that the Mediterranean is already grappling with the severe impacts of climate change, Octavi Quintana, director of the Prima research platform, said Tuesday.
The catastrophic DANA storm that struck Spain in October, leaving over 200 dead, underscores the urgency of addressing climate change, said Quintana in an interview with Xinhua.
"The only positive outcome of the DANA storm in Valencia is that it has made many people aware that climate change is not a problem for future generations -- it's a problem now," Quintana noted.
He pointed out that the Mediterranean is the second-most affected region globally by climate change, after the Arctic. Regional temperatures are rising 20 percent faster than the global average, exacerbating extreme weather events.
The Barcelona-based Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (Prima) unites scientists from 20 countries to tackle key regional challenges, with a particular focus on climate change.
According to the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean report (the SoED 2020), precipitation in the region will fall by 30 percent by 2080 while heavy rain events outside the summer months could increase 10-20 percent.
"The best way to address the problems of both flooding and drought is prevention. Acting beforehand is more effective, less expensive, and far easier than responding to disasters after they occur," said Quintana.
Preventive measures introduced after the catastrophic floods of the 1950s helped the city avoid the worst of the DANA storm's effects this time, which devastated other parts of the region, he explained.
Beyond flooding, the Mediterranean faces critical water stress, with over 180 million people, particularly in southern and eastern areas, suffering from chronic water shortages.
Prima has funded 238 international projects addressing issues such as water scarcity, sustainable agriculture, and disaster prevention.
"Society is realizing that these changes and threats are not theoretical but practical," Quintana noted. "Policymakers must take this growing awareness into account when shaping future strategies."
Solutions to these problems will emerge through collective creativity and innovation, Quintana said, underscoring that "Climate change is, if not the greatest, one of the greatest challenges humanity faces today."
With a budget of 700 million euros (732 million U.S. dollars) primarily funded by its 20 participating nations and the EU's Horizon research program, Prima fosters cooperation to address the Mediterranean's climate challenges.
