The temporal concentration of precipitation may be characterized using several methods. For climate‐scale precipitation, concentration measures are usually performed by means of dimensionless indices such as the Gini index (GI) or the Theil index. For the purposes of the present paper, a set of 66 409 daily time series from around the world were analysed to estimate the climatic concentration of precipitation. To this end, some of the most widely used indices were tested, i.e. the Theil index, the Gini index, the concentration index, the classic n index and an ordered version of the n index. Results show a strong connection between several indices, mainly between the GI and the ordered n index. The high correlation of these indices (R = 0.98) reflects a theoretical connection between the shape and integration of the Lorenz curve. With regard to spatial distribution, the three main indices present the same relative areas of high and low concentration. The high temporal concentration of precipitation is generally linked to the rapid pace of physical processes such as convection in areas with a high degree of insolation and warm seas. The low temporal concentration of rainfall can be interpreted as a consequence of regular patterns (maritime flows or highly recurrent storms). A relationship between the number of rainy days and concentration indices was noted; however, their correlation depends on the region analysed.

The Mediterranean coast of Spain often experiences intense rainfall, sometimes reaching remarkable amounts of more than 400 mm in one day. The aim of this work is to study possible changes of extreme precipitation in Spain for this century, simulated from several Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) climate models. Eighteen climate projections (nine models under RCP4.5 and nine RCP8.5 scenarios) were downscaled using a two‐step analogue/regression statistical method. We have selected 144 rain gauges as the rainiest of a network by using a threshold of 250 mm in one day for a return period of 100 years. Observed time‐series have been extended using the ERA40 reanalysis and have subsequently been used to correct the climate projections according to a parametric quantile–quantile method. Five theoretical distributions (Gamma, Weibull, Classical Gumbel, Reversed Gumbel and Log‐logistic) have been used to fit the empirical cumulative functions (entire curves, not only the upper tail) and to estimate the expected precipitation according to several return periods: 10, 20, 50 and 100 years. Results in the projected changes for 2051–2100 compared to 1951–2000 are similar (in terms of sign and value) for the four return periods. The analysed climate projections show that changes in extreme rainfall patterns will be generally less than the natural variability. However, possible changes are detected in some regions: decreases are expected in a few kilometres inland, but with a possible increase in the coastline of southern Valencia and northern Alicante, where the most extreme rainfall was recorded. These results should be interpreted with caution because of the limited number of climate projections; anyway, this work shows that the developed methodology is useful for studying extreme rainfall under several climate scenarios.

This paper addresses the determination of the realized thermal niche and the effects of climate change on the range distribution of two brown trout populations inhabiting two streams in the Duero River basin (Iberian Peninsula) at the edge of the natural distribution area of this species. For reaching these goals, new methodological developments were applied to improve reliability of forecasts. Water temperature data were collected using 11 thermographs located along the altitudinal gradient, and they were used to model the relationship between stream temperature and air temperature along the river continuum. Trout abundance was studied using electrofishing at 37 sites to determine the current distribution. The Representative Concentration Pathways RCP4·5 and RCP8·5 change scenarios adopted by the International Panel of Climate Change for its Fifth Assessment Report were used for simulations and local downscaling in this study. We found more reliable results using the daily mean stream temperature than maximum daily temperature and their respective 7 days moving average to determine the distribution thresholds. Thereby, the observed limits of the summer distribution of brown trout were linked to thresholds between 18·1 and 18·7 °C. These temperatures characterize a realized thermal niche narrower than the physiological thermal range. In the most unfavourable climate change scenario, the thermal habitat loss of brown trout increased to 38% (Cega stream) and 11% (Pirón stream) in the upstream direction at the end of the century; however, at the Cega stream, the range reduction could reach 56% due to the effect of a ‘warm‐window’ opening in the piedmont reach. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.