Climate, climate change and climate risks in the Mediterranean litoral: Opportunities for geography

Climatology is the branch of geography that, to a greater extent, responds to the main objective of the field: the study of the relationships between the environment and human beings and their different manifestations on the earth's surface. Spanish climatology is currently competing on equal terms with international climate research through the contribution of new theoretical approaches and methods and the dissemination of results in high-impact international journals. One of the main topics of Spanish climate research is the current climate change and its effects on atmospheric elements. The Mediterranean coast is a good laboratory for investigating an issue whose consequences are already being felt and, if the current trend is maintained, can have effects on economic activities and spatial occupation. In this context, a work agenda is proposed for Spanish climatology to become the main geographical branch of Spanish geographic research and teaching in the next years.