Climate crisis Intense rain down to 'cold drop' over warming sea

In the areas worst affected by the torrential downpours and flooding that hit the east coast of Spain, more than 400 litres of rain per square metre fell on Tuesday.

- Ashifa Kassam Faisal Ali

Rubén del Campo, a spokesman for Spain's meteorological agency, told El País: "A relatively strong storm, a powerful downpour, like those we see falling in spring or summer, can be 40 or 50 litres per square metre. This practically multiplies it by 10."

The intense rain, which has led to the deaths of at least 150 people, was attributed to a phenomenon known as the gota fría, or "cold drop", which occurs when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea.