In 2070, Croatia will experience severe droughts, tornados, new diseases...

Croatia has small greenhouse gas emissions per capita, but it is very sensitive to climate change – this was repeatedly said during yesterday's conference "The Paris Climate Change Agreement – Challenges and Opportunities”, organised by the European Commission Representation in Croatia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and the Croatian Chamber of Economy. Climate change in Croatia is already happening, which could be witnessed in recent days, with heat waves alternating with extreme storms, reports Večernji List on June 28, 2017.

According to the projections until 2070, which were presented at the conference, Croatia is threatened by drastic changes in the climate, which will bring about significant changes to life in this region. Vladimir Kalinski, the project leader for the development of climate change adjustment strategy, said that by mid-2070 the average air temperature in Croatia would rise by 2.2 degrees Celsius, and that precipitation would be reduced by up to 15 percent in all seasons except winter. By 2070, the snow cover will be reduced by almost 50 percent, and sea levels will rise by 40 to 65 centimetres by the end of this century, thus endangering a significant number of towns on Croatia’s coast. There will be more natural disasters like hail, storms, high winds and even tornados. This will have as a consequence higher frequency and intensity of dry periods and, on the other hand, more frequent floods. Sea temperatures will increase considerably.

The largest adverse effects from climate change are expected in agriculture. Due to drought and rising air temperatures, yields in the agricultural sector will be reduced by three to eight percent, which will result in more expensive food production.

Climate change will also lead to the situation that the problem with wildfires will not be confined just to the Adriatic coast, but also to the Hrvatsko Zagorje region and other parts of inland Croatia. Due to rising sea temperatures, the native Adriatic fish will try to escape to deeper and more northerly seas, while new species will arrive from the warmer seas. Climate change will lead to shifts in the tourist season in Croatia. Since warmer summer months will be more affected by the weather, the season will not be so enjoyable. This could have a positive impact on the preseason and postseason, which will become more enjoyable as far as weather conditions are concerned.

The worse climate in Croatia will also significantly affect the health of the population. Extreme weather conditions will lead to a rise in chronic non-contagious illnesses such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and mortality will increase. There will also be a change in the epidemiology of infectious diseases, with new diseases appearing.