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This paper presents the analysis of mean daily temperature and precipitation from 1950 to 2010 in an area with Mediterranean climate of NE Spain including some coastal areas near Barcelona and the Penedès and Camp de Tarragona Depressions located between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Mediterranean Sea. Their variability, with especial attention to the frequency of extreme events, was analysed by using 18 indexes: seven for temperature and 11 for precipitation were analysed for four meteorological observatories. A multivariate analysis was performed in order to analyse the temperature and precipitation trends. During the analysed period, an increase in mean annual maximum temperature was observed in all observatories ranging between 1.5 and 2.2°C associated with an increase in the number of days with high extreme temperatures. Minimum temperature only increased significantly in the coast observatories (about 1.4°C). By seasons, temperature trends were greater at Vilafranca del Penedès and Barcelona observatories and lower at Reus airport. Maximum spring temperature increased between 1.5 and 2.5°C, summer temperature increased between 1.6 and 2.5°C and autumn temperature increased by up to 2.2°C. Precipitation presented a high variability from year to year, without significant trends. The most significant results were related to the dry conditions observed in spring 2000s, the wet conditions recorded in summer 2000s and 1980s and the longer dry periods in autumn 2000s. The increase of temperatures determined the increase of evapotranspiration, and due to the higher irregular distribution, water deficits for crop development were recorded. An advance of phenological dates and a reduction of grape yield are associated to climate trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high variability of the Mediterranean climate from year to year and within each year makes it difficult to assess changes that could be associated with a climate change. In this paper some indices, such as changes in the precipitation concentration during the year, maximum 1-day and 5-day precipitation, number of wet days (total and those with precipitation higher than the 75th and 95th percentile), magnitude and frequency of extreme events (considered as the rainfall higher than that corresponding to the 99th percentile), fraction of annual total precipitation due to events exceeding the 95th and 99th percentile, strength of the events, and length and frequency of dry period (days between consecutive rains) are evaluated for the Penedès-Anoia region (NE Spain). A 80-year daily dataset (1923-2002) and two 40-year series were used to assess possible trends. The indices indicate an increase in precipitation in winter and summer and a positive trend of concentration in autumn, with a higher number of extreme events separated by longer dry periods. The total number of wet days per year increased, although it was irregularly distributed over the year, with an increase in the extremes and in the fraction of total rainfall that these events represent in autumn and winter, and with an increase of the strength of the events in autumn. These changes in rainfall distribution have negative effects on water availability for crops and contribute to accelerate erosion processes in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]