The central section is blessed with a Mediterranean climate that nurtures a wide range of agricultural products, including wine grapes.

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Lisbon is also the second-hottest city in Europe with a year-round average of 62 degrees, topped only by Athens, which sits in a Mediterranean climate and is encased by mountains.

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Finding a Mediterranean climate characterised by warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters, they successfully planted their own vines and have kept the valley dry grown (ie no irrigation zone) for more than 150 years.

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The Mediterranean coastal fringes have a Mediterranean climate with some rain between October and March, but the vast area of desert inland has very little rain at all and here some of the highest temperatures in the world have been recorded.

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While southern California is a dry Mediterranean climate, one the highest rain falls in North America was recorded in the San Gabriel River watershed in 1943, at staggering 26.12 inches fell in 24 hours at Hoegees Camp.

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These days, Perth is a vibrant cosmopolitan city which still enjoys Mediterranean climate and rightly claims to offer more hours of sunshine than any other Australian state capital.

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Many countries in the Mediterranean basin could face a future of significant food and water shortages as climate change bites and deserts spread.

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