Journal Article
Low‐Intensity Precipitation Dominates Peninsular Spain (1961–2022)
Ahmed M. El Kenawy; Santiago Beguería; Fernando Domínguez‐Castro; Amar Halifa‐Marín; Maria Adell‐Michavila; Borja Latorre; Magí Franquesa; Islam M. Gaber; Islam M. Hamdi; Sergio M. Vicente‐Serrano
International Journal of Climatology · 2026
Abstract
Precipitation regimes across peninsular Spain have undergone a structural reorganisation toward low‐intensity dominance over the past six decades (1961–2022), driven by redistribution across intensity classes rather than monotonic changes in totals. These findings are derived from a dense observational network of 2096 rain gauges. Rather than focusing solely on precipitation totals or extremes, we introduce a redistribution‐based diagnostic framework that jointly evaluates precipitation frequency (RF) and volumetric contribution (RC) across the full intensity spectrum (P1–P99). Results reveal that the lowest percentiles (P1–P10) show widespread positive trends in both RF and RC, with up to ~60% of the territory exhibiting statistically significant increases, particularly during winter and fall ( p