Majorca could be 'a desert' by 2050 due to dramatic Balearic Island change

Majorca could be “like a desert” by 2050, according to a new report. The study, as highlighted by domestic news website the Majorca Daily Bulletin, has warned that the climate in Spain could be dramatically different by 2050 - all because of climate change.

A study by the Universitat Politència de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona concludes that Spain “could change from a Mediterranean climate to a steppe climate” as a result of climate change, the university said in a statement today.

The study ‘Spain: towards a drier and warmer climate’, presented at the International Congress of Meteorology of the European Meteorological Society (EMS) in Barcelona, analyses the evolution of temperatures and precipitation from 1971 to 2022 throughout Spain and makes a projection of the mainland-Balearic climate until 2050.

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The research predicts that, if the warming trend experienced in recent years continues, by 2050 there will be a reduction in rainfall of between 14% and 20% compared to current precipitation. For this reason, it warns that global warming would cause a “very marked” change in the Spanish climate by 2050.

The study goes on to warn the holiday hotspot in the European Union destination could be "desert-like". And the research predicts Barcelona on the mainland will change from a climate of mild, dry winters and hot summers to a steppe and semi-arid climate.

August 2024 was the warmest August in Spain since records began in 1961, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). With an average temperature of 25C, it surpassed the warmest August months to date, those of 2003 and 2023, which tied with 24.8C.

It comes weeks after a new Majorca sea temperature record was set. The temperature of the seawater at Sa Dragonera has set a new record of 31.87 degrees centigrade. The previous record recorded in the Balearics was two years ago on August 24, when the temperature of the sea at Sa Dragonera reached 31.36 °C.