Global warming is happening at an accelerating rate in Spain. In 2020, the average temperature in the country was 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the average in preindustrial times, between 1850 and 1900. Whatâs more, the rate of warming has accelerated in the last few decades, rising a cumulative 1.3ºC in 60 years. Thatâs according to the executive report on the state of the climate in Spain in 2020, presented by the Spanish weather agency Aemet on Friday. The report warns that if greenhouse emissions continue at their current rate, the average temperature will rise 5ºC by the end of the century.
Limiting global warming to well below 2ºC by reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the central goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Nearly half of all gases emitted accumulate in the atmosphere, which accelerates global warming, while the other 50% are absorbed by oceans and forests. In its report, Aemet explains that although the coronavirus lockdown led to a big drop in business activity and travel, the concentration of greenhouse gases continued to rise in 2020. In the case of carbon dioxide, the concentration rose to levels not seen in 800,000 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization.