A study by the Spanish Oceanographic Society predicts an uncertain future for the Spanish coastline: sea levels rising up to 50cm in 50 years, which would threaten large swathes of prime tourist real estate. In this article in El Pais, scientists report that the Mediterranean sea has risen by 8 cm since 1950, shallow waters have warmed by 0.12-0.5′C and that salinity has also increased. This finding is in concordance with the reports by the International Panel on Climate Change during their meeting in Valencia in 2007.
My personal observation is not scientific at all, but here in Altea, I walk past a stretch of beach that was once passable on foot but which is now permanently underwater. However, it is in reclaimed land what is the beach today was underwater 15 years ago, before we paved our way to parking heaven.
