Mediterranean Storms: Spain, Portugal & Morocco Hit by Extreme Floods & Climate Change Link

The western Mediterranean region is reeling from a series of devastating storms that have brought widespread flooding, destructive winds, and loss of life to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. While the precise role of climate change remains under investigation, scientists suggest a warming planet is exacerbating the intensity of these weather events.

In Spain, the town of Grazalema, known as the country’s wettest, experienced an extraordinary deluge in early February. A year’s worth of rain fell in just two weeks, overwhelming the karst aquifer beneath the town and causing water to surge into homes through floors, walls, and even electrical sockets. Authorities ordered a full evacuation, and hundreds of residents remain in an exclusion zone. “I felt a lot of fear,” said Andrés Sánchez Barea, a guesthouse owner whose home was affected. “At first we tried to get rid of the water. Lots of people came to help, but we realised it was impossible.”

Neighboring Portugal also bore the brunt of the extreme weather. Storm Kristin, which struck in early February, knocked out electricity, telephone, and internet services across large areas. In Monte Real, winds reached a peak of 109mph (176km/h) before the measuring station was damaged. The storm’s impact extended beyond infrastructure damage, claiming lives and disrupting communities. Nelson Duarte, a beekeeper in Monte Real, described the terrifying experience of being trapped indoors with his family as the storm raged. “The wind became deafening and relentless, mixed with the sound of collapsing structures, flying tiles, breaking trees and violently banging metal sheets,” he said. “The atmosphere was terrifying and conveyed the feeling the house might not hold up.” Duarte lost half of his beehives in the storm.

The tragedy was compounded in the Carvide-Leiria region, where Ricardo Teodósio, an industrial painter, was killed when a garage roof he was repairing collapsed on him. João Lavos, commander of the local volunteer firefighters, described the situation as “unprecedented,” with the team responding to 50 storm-related incidents, including 15 involving casualties, within a 24-hour period.

Across the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco experienced its own share of devastation. In Safi, the ceramics capital, mud waves shattered pottery stores when heavy rains flooded the souk in late 2025. The majority of the 43 storm-related deaths across the country occurred in the narrow streets of the medina, as floodwaters surged through the historic city center. Amal Essuide, who runs a hotel in the old town, recounted the harrowing experience of witnessing the aftermath. “At first, we didn’t think there would be big damages,” she said. “But after we entered the small boat, and they found someone dead, then we realised it was a very hard thing. It was scary.”

Scientists are investigating the extent to which climate change contributed to the intensity of these storms. While a definitive link has not yet been established, early analysis from Climate Central suggests that the climate crisis made a marine heatwave that supercharged the storms in early February ten times more likely. A study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), though not yet peer-reviewed, found that carbon pollution increased the intensity of the rainfall and worsened the flooding.

Observational data indicates that the most extreme rainfall days in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco now deliver approximately one-third more water than they did in the 1950s, according to the WWA study. However, climate models do not consistently reflect this trend, leading researchers to acknowledge the complexity of the situation. Clair Barnes, a scientist at Imperial College London and co-author of the WWA study, noted that “trends in the region are mixed and are not represented by the climate models. However, other lines of evidence do suggest that climate change has increased the amount of water available in that weather system to fall as rain.”

The recent events have prompted renewed calls for greater adaptation measures across Europe. Last week, the EU’s official science advisors warned that Europe is failing to adequately prepare for a hotter planet and the increasingly extreme weather it brings. In Portugal, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of emergency warning systems. Duarte emphasized that the storms “caught us all completely by surprise” and that the death toll could have been far higher if the storms had occurred during daylight hours.

In Grazalema, residents praised the swift action of local authorities in ordering the evacuation. Mario Sánchez Coronel, a textile shop owner, highlighted the collaborative response between the town’s centre-left leadership and the neighbouring town of Ronda, which provided shelter for evacuees. “They did the right thing,” he said. “They acted under pressure, and it’s not easy to act like that.”

As communities begin the long process of recovery, questions remain about the future. Sánchez Coronel expressed a sense of uncertainty, wondering if these devastating storms are a harbinger of even more severe weather to come. “It was hard, because you think about what might happen next,” he said. “After the ‘bad’, will the ‘worst’ come?”