Climate change and Mediterranean crops: 2003 and 2012, two possible examples of the near future

In the 20th century, temperature and precipitation along the Mediterranean basin showed an increase in the rate of warming, a decrease in annual precipitation and an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events (hot days, tropical nights and heat waves). According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, these trends are expected to worsen in the next decades. These climate conditions might have severe consequences on agriculture, especially in terms of crop phenology and yields. In this work, an overview about the possible future response of crop systems was offered by the extreme climate conditions recorded in 2003 and 2012, which can be considered as examples of 'normal future climate' over the Mediterranean basin. The prolonged hot and dry environmental conditions caused yield of the main commercial crops to be greatly reduced. Moreover, the detrimental effects were emphasized by the contemporary occurrence of both drought and heat stress during the most sensitive crop phases. Accordingly, future changes in crop productivity should be accurately predicted to improve the identification of the more suitable adaptation options to cope with projected climate change.