Heat waves pose additional risks to urban spaces because of the additional heat provided by urban heat islands (UHIs) as well as poorer air quality. Our study focuses on the analysis of UHIs, human thermal comfort, and air quality for the city of Madrid, Spain during heat waves. Heat wave periods are defined using the long-term records from the urban station Madrid-Retiro. Two types of UHI were studied: the canopy layer UHI (CLUHI) was evaluated using air temperature time-series from five meteorological stations; the surface UHI (SUHI) was derived from land surface temperature (LST) images from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) products. To assess human thermal comfort, the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index was applied. Air quality was analyzed from the records of two air quality networks. More frequent and longer heat waves have been observed since 1980; the nocturnal CLUHI and both the diurnal and nocturnal SUHI experience an intensification, which have led to an increasing number of tropical nights. Conversely, thermal stress is extreme by day in the city due to the lack of cooling by winds. Finally, air quality during heat waves deteriorates because of the higher than normal amount of particles arriving from Northern Africa.

This contribution aims to explore the role of oceanographic parameters on the damage caused by storms at the eastern Cantabrian coast (1996–2016). All wave storms affecting the study area were characterized in terms of several oceanographic parameters; among them, damaging storms (responsible for direct and tangible loss) were identified. Cross-referencing both databases makes it possible to find some thresholds that explain storm conditions associated with property damage. Particularly relevant are those responsible for significant and widespread damage: maximum significant offshore wave height >6.5 m, maximum total water level >6 m, SPI > 1700 m²h, and a storm duration >48 h. These values are exceptionally high, mostly exceeding the 95th percentile. A comparison has been made with other thresholds described in the literature. The concurrence of high wave height and high tidal level is crucial as the greatest damage is caused by the combination of wave impact and over-wash, so a long duration of the storm is necessary to coincide with high tide. An empirical Intensity-Duration threshold has also been obtained with the following function I = 248.7 D^−0.45. Damage can occur with moderate storms, but with severe effects only with exceptional wave and sea-level values, during long-lasting storms.

This contribution analyzes the impact on Iberian water resources of anthropogenic climatic change, using the output from four simulations obtained from two coupled general circulation models (HadCM2 and PCM) under the A2 and B2 emissions scenarios. The results show that the magnitude of those impacts will depend on the level of global warming and the geographical characteristics of each watershed, although a reduction in runoff, principally in spring and summer, and a change in the timing of the maximum discharge, especially in high-altitude basins, will be two the most noteworthy features.

Cold air pools (CAPs) are one of the most severe weather conditions experienced across many basins worldwide, related to episodes of extreme cold temperatures, poor air quality, and disruption of transportation networks. This study offers a basic climatology of CAPs in the southern Spanish Plateau and investigates its evolution since 1961 and their links with local, synoptic, and large‐scale climate variability. It is based on the comparison of meteorological records from two stations, one in the Sistema Central Range (Navacerrada, 1,894 m asl) and another at the plain (Madrid‐Barajas, 609 m asl). Accuracy and representativeness of both locations to depict the spatial and temporal variability of CAPs was also tested. CAPs days (defined as the simultaneous occurrence of a daily minimum temperature difference above 0.1°C between both stations) were found to occur year‐round, but the most frequent and intense occur in winter (NDJ). Some typical features of CAPs, such as local mesoscale processes (katabatic and anabatic flows) in connection with synoptic (advection of mid‐troposphere warm air masses during high‐pressure regimes) and hemispheric (a positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation) variability were also observed, leading to a sheltered boundary layer at the bottom of southern Spanish Plateau, decoupled from the free troposphere. By night, CAPs have maintained both their frequency and intensity, which means that the frequency of extremely cold nights on the plain has remained relatively stable (despite global warming). By day, an enhanced warming of the high‐elevation site has increased the temperature difference between the mountains and the plain during CAP days.