disaster

The Rhine is running out of water due to heat waves. And that is a logistical and energy disaster for Europe

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A new wave of extreme heat is hitting the heart of the European continent, and the consequences go far beyond the records in thermometers or the fact to see raised tram tracks. The Rhine River, Western Europe’s most important river highway, is seeing its water levels plummet and the result is that a logistical bottleneck is being generated that threatens the supply of fuel and fundamental raw materials for Europe. The worry. The alarm has begun to be raised when it has been detected that the barges that navigate the river can barely carry half of their capacity, putting the supply of an important part of Europe in check. And all because of these heat waves that we are experiencing in Europe. To understand the magnitude of the problem, you have to look at how inland navigation works, since the Rhine is not limited to water crossing Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, but is an industrial artery. Literally, coal for thermal power plants, chemicals for industrial giants, oil or automotive components are transported through this river. The drought. When the flow of the river begins to decrease, its depth also decreases, and this collides with vessels that have a critical threshold. This means that if the water drops below a certain level at key points such as the famous Kaub bottleneck in Germany, captains are forced to drastically reduce their load to avoid running aground on the river bottom. This makes load 50 or even 30% of the boat’s capacity It is not an exaggeration, but a physical necessity. This triggers a domino effect that means that, if a ship carries half the load, it takes a second to do the same work. And since there are no infinite ships, transportation prices skyrocket and goods either do not arrive on time or become very expensive. It’s not just the Rhine. Although the exact impact figures should always be taken with caution because they vary greatly depending on the stretch of the river and the type of vessel, the general diagnosis is incontestable. Here the Joint Research Center of the European Commission has studied in-depth how limitations due to low water levels impact European rivers. Its scientific framework perfectly explains the current collapse, since low levels not only reduce cargo capacity, but completely alter continental logistics flows, drastically increasing operating costs. The reasons. Here the different institutions are clear that the problem lies in the lack of rain in spring and the lower amount of snow accumulated in the Alps during the winter, which causes the river to lose its natural “reserve” for the summer. But also, the Rhine is clearly warming. This not only has clear economic effects, but also serious ecological impacts on the river’s fauna, which in turn forces additional restrictions to be imposed. The new normal. What we are seeing this year does not seem like an event that remains a simple anecdote to tell our grandchildren, but rather the different evidence indicates that seeing low flow will be increasingly frequent due to climate change. The proposed solution involves the use of AI to predict exactly when we will see these very low flows to optimize the supply chain, or simply build flat-bottomed boats with better drafts to be able to continue transporting cargo when the river is at even lower levels of flow. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Global warming has stepped on the accelerator at an unprecedented rate and we are getting closer to the point of no return

Telecinco wanted to revolutionize its schedule for the summer in search of solutions for the audience. At the moment it’s a disaster

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Telecinco has changed half of its afternoon schedule to escape the worst season in its history. At the moment, however, the changes are not being noticed as much as Mediaset would have liked, and so far no program has reached 8% of share. There is still a lot of summer ahead, and in some cases, the headlines have barely had a couple of broadcasts, but we are certainly far from brilliant starts for these new programs whose structure, aesthetics and presenters smell of the company’s old glories. The figures. He date show by Carlos Lozano ‘Love… or whatever arises’ debuted on June 22 with 6.8% share and 632,000 spectators; the return of Paz Padilla to Telecinco after his rudeness with the now deceased ‘Sálvame’, ‘El show de Paz’, with 7.8% and 638,000; and the magazine of suns and gossip presented by Ion Aramendi and Kike Quintana ‘El Verano Se Move’, with 7%. The latter, the most recent premiere (this Monday), is the network’s third evening premiere in eight days, and the penultimate of a plan that Mediaset designed to get the network out of its worst historical moment. Some context: ‘El show de Paz’ occupies part of the time on weekends of ‘Fiesta’, Emma García’s magazine that had just had its two worst months in history (8.1% in April and 8.2% in May). If Padilla manages to settle at around 9% compared to his rivals (cinema on the rest of the channels) and, in the process, spreads a rise to ‘Fiesta’, he will have fulfilled his promise. And it remains to be seen what happens with the fourth piece of the plan, ‘From Monday to Fridaythe daily version of ‘De Viernes’ with Beatriz Archidona and Santi Acosta, which premieres on Monday, July 6 at 6:15 p.m., in the gap left by ‘El Diario de Jorge’ during the summer. Their litmus test is twofold: not to sink against ‘The Promise’, which averaged 12.6% in May, and to stand up to the World Cup matches that still lie ahead. Summer ahead. They have all just started and you have to give them some space. The only headline that has already been filming for a week is that of Carlos Lozano, which had been on the air for a week on the day of the premiere of ‘El Verano Se Move’. For that day, ‘Amor… or whatever arises’ had a minimum audience (5.4%), and right after, La 1 broadcast the Brazil-Japan of the Worldwhich swept with a 33.7% share and 3,075,000 viewers, and sank both ‘El Diario de Jorge’ and ‘Allá tú!’. Result: 7.2% on average, one of the worst Mondays in the history of Telecinco. The plan. Mediaset announced in mid-June a offensive of four new programs for the section from 3:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: ‘Love… or whatever arises!’, ‘Summer moves’, ‘From Monday to Friday’ and ‘The Peace Show’. They all replace formats that had been moving between 8% and 10% for months, such as ‘El tiempo just’, whose presenter, Joaquín Prat, is on paternity leave. The program had been averaging 8.5% for two months in a row. share and it had barely exceeded double digits five times since its premiere, a far cry from ‘Sueños de Libertad’ on Antena 3, the undisputed leader of the after-dinner program with an average of 14.2% in May. The precedents. Telecinco arrives this summer with the worst possible figures: the 2025-2026 seasonwas the worst in the history of the channel: an 8.9% average share, eight tenths less than the previous year and the fifth consecutive time that Telecinco has set a new historical season low. For the first time, the channel fell below 10% share in the twelve months of the course, with a ceiling of 9.4% and a floor of 8.4% in December, its worst month in the regular season. The afternoon slot, which is now trying to be reformed, also closed the course at a historic low: 9%. And it is a deterioration that is not limited to entertainment: the network’s news They also posted their worst figure, 8.3% share, without any of their three editions reaching double digits on average. It can be compared, for example, with the increasingly firm La 1, which in the last five years has gone from 8.8% to 12.1%. Telecinco’s path has been practically the opposite, from 13.1% to 8.9%. The importance of football. We were talking about the World Cup as relevant when it came to giving the finishing touch to the Telecinco audiences, but the phenomenon goes further. La 1 closed June as the leading channel, with a 14.3% share, its best June in 15 years, with the World Cup contributing almost a quarter of its monthly result. The entire Mediaset group, on the other hand, lost 3.4 points year-on-year compared to an RTVE group that gained 4.4. Football is obviously determining which channel goes better and worse this summer. In Xataka | Telecinco has ‘El Rosco’ but does not have ‘Pasapalabra’. Antena 3 has ‘Pasapalabra’ but does not have ‘El Rosco’

Today on Prime Video, a disaster movie that lost 45 million in theaters but is sweeping streaming

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In January 2026, ‘Greenland 2‘ premiered at number six at the US box office and closed its run in theaters with 44.8 million dollars collected against a budget of 90. The numbers are incontestable: a tremendous failure. Five months later, the sequel starring Gerard Butler tops the most watched lists on HBO Max in the United States, and now lands in Spain in Prime Video. The story of this saga begins with a pandemic and a comet. The first ‘Greenland’ never reached American theaters: COVID-19 forced it to be transferred directly to video on demand in December of that year. In international cinemas it did have a theatrical release, and it worked very well, since the reviews were good despite it being a genre not very popular with specialists. But it was the perfect time for a film of this type. The sequel tried to ride that same wave, but it didn’t turn out so well, although it ended up finding its audience. The family protagonist of the first installment has been in an underground bunker in Greenland for five years after the impact of a comet, but a series of earthquakes destroys the shelter and forces them to evacuate. They will head towards the south of France, where a crater has generated a habitable microclimate, free of electromagnetic storms and radiation. A true epic in which they will have to test their courage, their resistance and their trust in the family unit. The trajectory of ‘Greenland 2’ has parallels with that of ‘Tomorrow’s War’, the science fiction thriller with Chris Pratt that Paramount gave to Prime Video during the pandemic. It passed without pain or glory in theaters, with barely 19 million dollars collected against a budget of 200 million, but it became one of the most viewed films of the year. streaming at that time and one of the first massive successes of the Amazon platform. New dynamics of exploitation, new unexpected successes, and yes, a common point: the destruction of the planet, better to see it comfortably at home. In Xataka | Premiere: Harlan Coben is the real King Midas of Netflix, and he has a new series to confirm it

The US has signed peace with Iran in Versailles. The last time someone did it was the prologue to an unprecedented disaster

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There is a historical irony that is difficult to overcome: the Treaty of Versailles It was signed in the same room (the Hall of Mirrors) where, in 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed after the French defeat. In 1919, France chose that same place on purpose to reverse the humiliation and force Germany to sign its defeat in the same scenario of its triumph. That peace was intended close a war…and twenty years later, Europe was entering an even worse situation. Peace in the same place, again. donald trump has signed an agreement with Iran in a place steeped in history: the Palace of Versailles. The image is powerful because it inevitably refers to the last great peace treaty sealed there, the one from 1919when Europe believed it was healing the wound of the First World War. That peace, however, was an imperfect peace: humiliated Germany, left open economic and political wounds, and fueled resentment that, two decades later, facilitated the rise of Adolf Hitlerthe collapse of the European order and the Second World War. The symbolism today is disturbing because Trump presents this pact as a historic victory, but many see in it the same pattern: a hasty truce, ambiguous concessions and structural problems that remain intact. From surrender to something else. Just a few weeks ago Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” of Iran. He signed memorandum This week it’s practically the opposite. Washington has agreed to release billions in frozen assets, relax sanctions, allow Iranian oil exports and open the door to a reconstruction fund. of 300 billion dollars funded by regional partners. In return, Tehran promises to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, contain its regional allies and continue talking about its nuclear program. The shift is enormous: from maximalist rhetoric to a negotiation that many in Washington consider a strategic transfer. The weapon that defeated Washington. The most striking thing is that Iran did not win this negotiation on the battlefield, but in the global economy. The closure of Hormuz (through which around 20% of the world’s oil passes) unleashed a cimmediate energy crisis. The threat of a global economic collapse was the factor that, according to Trump himselfpushed him to close a quick deal. I feared a spiral similar to that of Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Therein lies the great Iranian victory: it has shown that it does not need to militarily defeat the United States to impose conditions; just touch the circulatory system of the world economy. What was not resolved. There is no doubt, the central problem is still alive. The agreement barely touches the Iranian ballistic arsenal, leaves the question of its regional militias in the air and only establishes vague mechanisms to manage its enriched uranium. Trump even has publicly accepted for Iran to keep part of its missiles, something that until recently was a red line. The architecture of the pact is dangerously similar to that of the 2015 nuclear deal which he himself demolished during his first term. The difference is that now he signs it with less pressure and with an Iran that has proven its capacity for economic coercion. A peace that strengthens the adversary. Instead of weakening the regime, the war seems to have consolidated it. The apparatus of the Guardians of the Revolution still intact At its political core, the new leadership presents itself as surviving a direct clash with Washington and the flow of money can reinforce its internal stability. In practice, Trump has saved a regime he claimed he wanted to overthrow. That’s one of the most uncomfortable parallels. with 1919: Sometimes treaties do not close conflicts, they simply reorganize forces and give the actors time to recover. The poison of the 1919 Treaty. When the Treaty of Versailles was signed after the First World War, the winning powers imposed gigantic economic reparations on Germany, the loss of key territories, severe military limitations and, above all, the famous “guilt clause”, which forced Berlin to accept responsibility morale of the entire war. On paper it was a punishment. In practice it was a political bomb watchmaking. German society felt that peace not as closure, but as a historical humiliation that fueled a narrative of national betrayal and desire for revenge. From humiliation to Nazism. That resentment found perfect fuel in the hyperinflation of the 1920s, massive unemployment and the economic collapse after the crash of 1929. It was in that broth that Hitler built his rise: promising to break up Versailles, restore German greatness, and return lost sovereignty. And he did it. He reoccupied the Rhineland, rearmed the country, absorbed Austria, and dismantled the European order as Western democracies tried to buy time with concessions. The peace of 1919 did not prevent the following war; He incubated her slowly. and when broke out in 1939was much more devastating than the first. The lesson of Versailles. The great historical teaching of the Treaty of Versailles It was not that peace failed immediately, but that a very bad peace can incubate a worse war. In 1919 it was believed that the European chaos had been contained and what was done was to postpone it while growing up in silence. Today the risk is not a literal repetition, but the logic is recognizable: United States economic pressure easesIran retains tools of coercion and its nuclear capacity remains not completely neutralized. If Tehran concludes that being on the brink of the bomb is not enough to deter and that the real shield is to become another North Korea, this agreement could end up being remembered not as the end of a war, but as the prologue to a much larger crisis. Image | US NAVY, William Orpen In Xataka | The US entered Iran with the intention of disarming it and changing the regime: it is going to leave by strengthening its position and paying it money In Xataka | Iran always thought it would need a nuclear bomb to defend itself against the US: it has … Read more

The Milky Way has been in the sky for billions of years. It took a natural disaster for the residents of Los Angeles to see it for the first time

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January 17, 1994. The San Fernando Valley trembled under a large earthquake of magnitude 6.7 that shook the city of Los Angeles with terrible severity. As is normal after a disaster like thisthe emergency lines were soon filled with calls from terrified neighbors. There were many common warnings, but there was a much more curious call which was repeated ad nauseam. That of a lot of neighbors scared by the enormous silver strip that had opened in the sky. What they saw, far from being something dangerous, was a clear sign of the light pollution that already covered Los Angeles 30 years ago. It was just the Milky Way. In reality, what these neighbors saw was neither more nor less than the Milky Way. Many of them were not used to traveling outside big cities, so they had not seen our galaxy crossing the sky in their entire lives. This is precisely why this true story is often used to raise awareness about the risks of light pollution. Why is it not seen? Artificial light from streetlights, monuments or illuminated shop windows is reflected and dispersed in the atmosphere, so that it illuminates the background of the sky. Normally, we see stars because there is a great contrast between them and the dark sky. However, this scattered light almost completely destroys said contrast. From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a very faint band of light. Therefore, if there is not enough contrast it is practically impossible to see it. It’s still there, but it’s hidden from our eyes. The more pollution, the worse. The suspension of particles in the air can cause artificial light to scatter even further. Therefore, the problem in large cities, like Los Angeles, is twofold. On the one hand there are many streetlights and other luminaires and on the other hand there is usually a lot of pollution. It is normal that so many people have never seen the Milky Way. Getting worse. This event took place more than 30 years ago. Although today there is more awareness about the problem of light pollution and the City Councils of some cities design lighting projects advised by astronomers and other experts, the situation has not improved. In fact, currently is calculated that 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies. Using the striking case of the Milky Way as a reference, a study published in 2024 point because 60% of Europeans and 80% of Americans have never seen the Milky Way. The case of people who believed that the sky had cracked is just an anecdote. However, the reality is that the heavens are no longer what they were. If the problem of light pollution is not solved, future generations will not be able to enjoy many of the spectacles that the sky has given us. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | James Webb has found a galaxy from when the universe was 330 million years old. Hides a whole enigma

In 1985, on the verge of being defeated by Pepsi, Coca-Cola changed its ancestral formula. The result was a disaster

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Coca-Cola had been the reference soft drink around the world for decades, but in the early 80s a very tough competitor had emerged: pepsi. The firm had been gaining more and more followers with advertisements in which they participated Michael Jackson, Michael J Fox either Cindy Crawfordand its success did not stop growing thanks to a spectacular advertising campaign called “The Pepsi Challenge”. Those ads seemed to show that people preferred the taste of Pepsi, and Coca-Cola managers, scared by the threat of being forgotten, decided to change the formula and create the so-called “New Coke.” That was a disaster and Coca-Cola ended up returning to its original formula. The Pepsi challenge was as simple as it was effective. The people who participated did a “blind tasting”: there were two glasses with unidentified cola, one with Coca-Cola and the other with Pepsi. In appearance they seemed the same, and behind them were the bottles with which each glass had been filled (or hidden under some paper cylinders). The result according to the advertisements was always himself. The taste of Pepsi won time and time again. Coca-Cola executives, who saw how their market share was constantly declining, began a gigantic project: the creation of a “New Coca-Cola” (New Coke) that would see its recipe modified for the first time since the creation of this drink in 1886. What happened The modification of the recipe was evaluated with market studies that were promising: the new Coca-Cola, sweeter, beat both the old Coca-Cola (the original) and Pepsi. Everything seemed to show that Coca-Cola had its winning drink. That made the company announce “New Coke” with great fanfare on April 23, 1985. Initially the reception was good, but criticism soon began to arrive, which increased: a lot of people wanted the old Coca-Colaand surveys conducted shortly after the launch showed how only 13% of people preferred “New Coke.” Coca-Cola ended up producing the original recipe again, which it called “Coca-Cola Classic” just two months after that launch, and some time later it directly stopped manufacturing its “New Coca-Cola” to stay with the classic, which also lost that adjective. Everything remained as at the beginning, but with a spectacular marketing failure and development in which the firm had invested 100 million dollars. Still, Coca-Cola recovered after the disaster. That attempt to compete, although a failure, seemed to resonate deeply with consumers, especially when Coca-Cola recognized its mistake and offered the “old Coca-Cola” again. By the end of 1985, Coca-Cola Classic was outselling New Coke and Pepsi. What happened? One of the problems was pointed out by Malcolm Gladwell in his book ‘Intuitive Intelligence: Why do we know the truth in two seconds?’ (‘Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking’). In it he explained how the failure was in the nature of the blind tastings, based on “sips.” People, he explained, reacted positively to the sweeter taste of Pepsi when they only tried a sip, but that taste ended up being worse when you drank an entire can, and that is what according to Gladwell Coca-Cola failed to understand in its tests. The original Coca-Cola recipe proposed a much more appropriate balance for the capacity of the cans and bottles of this soft drink. At Coca-Cola they also tried to investigate what had happened, and the conclusion of those in charge was that they underestimated the public reaction of people who rejected the change. The response generated by that launch of the “New Coca-Cola” was astonishing, and signature collections and movements against the new recipe were organized that united many people in an unprecedented campaign. Of course: New Coke kept winning those blind tastings. It didn’t matter: the one that really won was Coca-Cola, whose current quota in the soft drink market is 44% in the United States, while Pepsi’s is 26%. In Xataka | Odyssey in the soft drink aisle: why drinking a Diet Coke in the middle of 2026 is an impossible mission In Xataka | The Coca-Cola recipe seemed untouchable. Until Europe first and Mexico later have decided to touch it Image | Unsplash

After the Titan millionaire submarine disaster, China plans to take more rich tourists 1,000 meters under the sea

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The depths ofto Mariana Trench or exploration from the deep ocean It has always been a thing for scientists and remotely controlled machines. China wants it to stop being so and already has an ambitious plan in motion: taking wealthy tourists to 1,000 meters deep, where sunlight does not reach and where there is no turning back for an engineering failure. The project comes three years after the Titan tragedythe OceanGate submersible that imploded in June 2023 while I was visiting the remains of the titanic in which its five occupants died. Far from stopping its efforts, China is moving forward with a proposal that, unlike the Titan, is backed by decades of naval engineering developed with the support of China. Four highly sought-after seats. Ye Cong, director of the China Naval Scientific Research Center, counted to ChinaDaily that “after more than four years of research, engineers have finalized the structural design” and that, once the prototype is built, “they will carry out sea trials and then improve the design based on the results.” The submersible will have enough space to accommodate four peoplepilot included, so, to begin with, the availability of places is very limited. This shortage of vacancies is expected to contribute to skyrocketing prices for filling each seat. One of the most complex problems of the small submarine has already been solved: the panoramic viewfinder. Your designers they describe it as “one of the most difficult structural codes to decipher on a deep-sea submersible.” And it makes sense since at 1,000 meters deep the pressure is about 100 times greater than on the surface, and that window has to withstand it without giving way. An unprecedented leap into the abyss. This is not the first submersible that Chinese engineers have operated. However, such andhow do they count in South China Morning Post The new projects that are being tested far exceed the depths at which current submersibles operate, which do not go below 20 meters deep. They are used for lakes, reservoirs and shallow coasts, so going from there to 1,000 meters is multiplying the operating depth by 50. The same naval engineering center that is now building this new generation of manned mini-submarines already built The Huandao Jiaolong 1 and 2, two tourist submersibles with capacity for seven passengers and a limit of 40 meters. However, on that occasion, immersion operations were suspended due to regulatory restrictions, but everything learned then has been applied to the new design. China plunges into the field of underwater exploration. The West has been designing submersibles for decades for deep dives. Companies like Deep RoverTriton and U-Boat Worx have been manufacturing submersibles over 1,000 meters since 1985 and until now had no Chinese competition in that segment. The new project developed by the China Naval Scientific Research Center changes that scenario supported by the previous experience of the Jiaolongthe Deep Sea Warrior and the Fendouzhe, three ships that last year completed more than 300 dives around the world and accounted for more than 50% of all manned deep-sea expeditions on a global scale. Ye Cong assured the Chinese news agency that the submersible: “will be a valuable asset for cruise lines, high-end tour operators and oceanographic researchers. It will offer the most demanding travelers an unforgettable experience in ocean exploration.” The prototype should be ready before the end of 2026, with the commercial debut expected before 2030. Much more than a tourist “toy”: it is a key strategy. This submersible is not just a mere product intended for tourist use of millionaires with adventurous concerns. It is part of China’s strategy to become strong in the blue economy, the sector of economic activities linked to the sea, a developing sector in which China seeks to play a leading role in the future. The Asian giant already leads manned deep-sea exploration and wants that this technological advantage is amortized in the form of a private business for their companies. After the Titan catastrophea good part of the luxury underwater tourism industry came to a screeching halt. China is the first to step on the accelerator again in this area, and this project is supported by State resources, which gives it a considerable advantage over projects that, like the Titan, are developed with private funds and investors. In Xataka | There is a new chapter in the Titan submarine tragedy: the memory card of its camera survived the implosion Image | CSSC

the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, illustrated in fascinating cartographies of the disaster

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On April 26, 1986, reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, exploded during a low-power safety test. The accident released an estimated amount of radioactive material of 400 times greater than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The RBMK-1000 reactor involved had no containment structure, so radioisotopes such as iodine-131, cesium-137 or strontium-90 were freely dispersed into the atmosphere for ten days in a row, until they extinguished the graphite fire on May 5. The management of the accident could clearly be improved: the authorities ordered the evacuation of the nearby city of Pripyat 36 hours later and the world found out when Sweden detected radiation at its Forsmark plant on April 28. Ten years later, independent Ukraine published the Atlas of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zonea set of large-format graphic resources prepared by the state cartographic agency. As explains data journalist Attila Bátorfywas the first serious attempt to map the radioactive impact of the disaster on the soil, air and ecosystems and a large number of scientific professionals from entities such as the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences or other research institutes dependent on the Ministry of Ukraine for the Protection of the Population from the Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident participated in its preparation. Now it is available to anyone thanks to the digitized version available on Ecogisstorage. The atlas contains different cartographic blocks. One of the first and essential to understand evolution are the weather maps of europe the days during the active phase of the accident and show what the atmospheric situation was like afterwards, with isobars, atmospheric fronts or wind direction for each day. This is the basis of everything because without reconstructing how the air circulated those subsequent days it is not possible to interpret other pollution maps. The radioactive cloud followed erratic trajectories conditioned by the weather fronts, which explains why countries such as Sweden, Poland or Austria received significant deposits while closer areas were relatively less affected. Daily synoptic weather maps of Europe during the active phase of the Chernobyl accident To analyze the meteorological influence on dispersion in Ukraine, different graph formats are used, such as bars, wind speed and direction diagrams, or this one that goes under these lines: the radiological wind rose, which shows the amount of material released in each direction of the mean wind in the atmospheric boundary layer. Each line on the diagram represents the mean wind direction in the atmospheric boundary layer at a given time, with its date noted, the length indicating the magnitude of the radioactivity released. At first glance something can be seen: The dispersion was neither uniform nor radial.but tremendously asymmetrical. Thus, some fronts dragged pollution northwestward, towards Belarus and Scandinavia, while others diverted it to the south and west of Ukraine. Vector diagram of radioactivity emissions (in Bq) constructed for the average wind direction in the atmospheric boundary layer. The effects of the Chernobyl disaster, on maps Under these lines This is the most important map by far: that of Cesium – 137. Why is it important? Because due to its characteristics, Cs-137 is the radiological tracer par excellence, which allows directly showing the permanent chemical trace of the accident on the territory. Retrospective estimation map of soil contamination with cesium-137. At a scale of 1:200,000, it shows the deposition density of Cesium – 137 in the soil on May 10, 1986, reconstructed in retrospect. The pollution isolines draw a tremendously asymmetrical patch, with an absolute maximum concentrated in the north and northwest. There is also a second important spot in the south, following the course of the Pripyat River. The rest show decreasing levels with distance in a radial manner. Groundwater transport route map The previous one may be the most striking and without a doubt it is the one that has been most widely disseminated, but the most disturbing in the long term is the map of transport routes in groundwater because it quantifies the long-term risk of water pollution. Cs-137 is easily seen and measured, but strontium-90 moving silently through the aquifers toward the Dnieper, which supplies water to millions of people, is an invisible problem. This 1:200,000 scale map is the only one in the atlas that attempts to quantify this risk with real flow velocities, showing the probable migration trajectories of radionuclides through the aquifers. The arrows point predominantly to the south and southeast, in the direction of the Dnieper. Gamma dose map The map you see just above also has a scale of 1:200,000 and shows the gamma radiation dose power in μR/h (microroentgen per hour), measured 1 meter from the ground. Yes, the above maps are important to describe the severity of the problem, but the gamma dose rate map is essential for decision making: who can enter the area, for how long and what routes are passable. It was the work tool to access the area because it is the map for evaluate exposure dose of the population and the personnel who worked in the area. In Xataka | When Chernobyl exploded in 1986, Spain was freed from the radioactive cloud. AEMET has now discovered that it did it for very little In Xataka | We believed that the “elephant’s foot” was the most radioactive point in Chernobyl reactor 4. we were wrong Cover | Atlas of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ecogisstorage

Long before Real Madrid, the Roman Empire had already invented VIP boxes. And they ended in disaster

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In the first century, the emperor Nero ordered that some shows will include giant awnings to protect the most privileged attendees from the sun, while the rest of the public endured the heat in the upper stands. That seemingly trivial difference reflected the extent to which the experience of attending an event was already marked for money and status long before modern stadiums existed. Show business in Ancient Rome. Long before modern stadiums like the Bernabéu turned sport into a crazy revenue machine, the Roman Empire had already understood the economic potential of gathering crowds and charging for access. At that time, amphitheaters were not only leisure spaces, but political and commercial tools where prestige and money mixed openly. In fact, businessmen like Atilio They saw the games as a direct opportunity for profit, betting on filling venues at all costs and maximizing every available seat. In that context, the logic of squeezing capacity (with privileged areas for the elites and crowded stands for the rest) not only existed, but was central part of the model. Raised to make quick money. In this context, it is born the Fidenae project with a clear idea: build a lot, quickly and cheaply to start earning money as soon as possible. Attilius, a freedman with entrepreneurial ambition, decided to build a huge wooden amphitheater on the outskirts of Rome, reducing costs in the most critical elements. The structure was supported on unstable ground and was assembled with poor joints, while more seats than planned were added to increase revenue. The result was a building that appeared grand from the outside, but was actually designed more to maximize profits. that to ensure safety of those who were going to occupy it. Spectacle turned into tragedy. What happened? That the inauguration attracted tens of thousands of people who came with the expectation of witnessing gladiatorial combats after a period in which these spectacles had been rather rare. That amphitheater was filled to the limitthere was no room for a pin, with the public distributed by social classes and areas, replicating a hierarchy that also had its economic reflection. Thus, in a matter of seconds, what seemed like a festive day he happened to enter sadly in the Guinness Book of a total sporting catastrophe when the structure began to give way and collapsed simultaneously inwards and outwards. It was not just an accident, since the magnitude of the collapse trapped both those who were inside and those who were trapped. were in the surroundingsleaving a balance of victims that, according to sources, ranged between tens of thousands of dead and injured. The worst sports disaster in history. From then until now, because of its scalethe collapse or collapse of Fidenae was not only a local tragedy, but the biggest sports disaster that has ever been documented, surpassing even many modern episodes in number of victims. The figures, although imprecise at the time, point to a catastrophe comparable to major battles in terms of human losses (they were counted about 50,000 deadsome lost their lives instantly, while others were buried under the rubble), something totally exceptional for an entertainment event. The speed of the collapse, the absence of evacuation measures and the fragility of the construction made any reaction impossible, turning the amphitheater into a mousetrap, a death trap in a matter of seconds. What should have been a profitable business ended up being the most extreme example of how the search for profit can multiply risk to catastrophic limits. From greed to the first rules. There is no doubt, the impact of that disaster shook the Roman Empire and forced an institutional reaction that marked a before and after in the construction regulation. The Senate persecuted the person responsible, Attilius, and sent him into exile, but, more importantly, established rules that They demanded economic solvency to those who wanted to organize shows and forced them to build on safe land. Those measures can be considered one of the first attempts to regulate structural safety in public spaces, born directly from a tragedy caused by negligence. Ultimately, the episode left a lesson that is still very valid: when business prevails over security, the show not only cannot be guaranteed, it can end up becoming in his own catastrophe. Image | Wikimedia C. In Xataka | In 1995, South Korea suffered one of the great architectural disasters of the century. The culprit: the air conditioning In Xataka | If you’re hot at home, remember that Disney made an auditorium with a huge mistake: turning a neighborhood into an unbearable oven

If you are going to install air conditioning, remember what happened to South Korea. It was the architectural disaster of the millennium

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In the 1990s, some of Asia’s densest cities reached concentrate millions of people in urban areas built in just a few decades. In that same period, several studies began to warn that a significant part of the buildings erected during the great economic booms had serious structural deficiencies. In fact, in some inspections after major accidents, it was estimated that only a minority of buildings fully complied security standards. When you grow faster than you can build. In a few decades, South Korea went from the devastation of war to becoming an industrial and urban powerwith a speed of growth that was hardly unprecedented. Furthermore, during the economic boom in the 1980s, the country was chosen to host the 1988 Olympic Games, and an exorbitant number of buildings were built to meet these new needs. That impulse translated into a construction fever where building architectures mattered more than doing them well, and where practices such as cutting costs, accelerating deadlines or ignoring technical warnings became common. In that scenario was born Sampoong Department Storenot as a project exceptionally flawed from the beginning, but as a typical product of an era when progress was measured in square meters and not in safety standards. Air conditioning as a wick. The key point of the tragedy that was about to take place and that ended up turning the department store into the millennium architectural disasterit was not a single error, but a chain of decisions that ended up concentrating all the fragility of the building in an apparently secondary detail: the air conditioning system. As? Apparently, the equipment installed on the roof They weighed tens of tonsfar above what the structure could support, and their accelerated installation did not even follow normal procedures, as they were dragged on the roof, damaging the structure itself. From that moment on, a terrifying image: every vibration when you turn them on widened invisible cracks that toured the building. What should have been an element of comfort became a lethal burden that ended up acting as the final trigger for the collapse, concentrating years of accumulated negligence in a single point. The department store before the disaster Condemned from the plans. The disaster began long before anyone heard creaking in the ceiling. The original project It was a residential block four floors, but was transformed by Lee Joon, future director of the Sampoong Group, to turn it into a large shopping center without properly redesigning the structure. Plus: Due to bans in Seoul that prevented foreign companies from signing contracts in the city, these monstrous buildings were awarded to a handful of South Korean companies. Overwhelmed by pressure, companies decided that it was best to accelerate the pace of work, regardless of the cost. Thus, the diameter of the pillars was reduced from 80 to 60 centimetersand the distance between them was increased to increase the useful surface, columns removed to install escalators, its thickness was reduced to gain commercial space and a fifth floor was added that was never planned. Each modification increased the weight and weakened the resistancewhile companies that warned of the danger were fired and replaced by more accommodating ones. The result was a chaotic building that, on paper, no longer had a safety margin even before opening its doors. Cracks getting bigger. In the months before the collapse, the building gave multiple warnings that something was wrong. Visible cracks appeared, floors vibrated, employees felt dizzy, and engineers warned of a imminent structural failure. The management’s reaction was to close some areas, turn off the air conditioning at the last minute and continue operating normally in the rest of the building. The reason was so simple as devastating: Losing a day of sales in a complex that received thousands of people was unacceptable. Even on the day of the collapse, with cracks of several centimeters and obvious signs of danger, it was decided do not evacuate customers. Images after the collapse The collapse. On the afternoon of June 29, 1995, the building did not explode nor was it the victim of an external attack: he just gave in to the crazy number of negligence. The air conditioning equipment ended up passing through the weakened roof, the columns could not support the accumulated load and the building collapsed. collapsed in a matter of 20 secondscrushing entire plants on top of each other. More than 500 people died and more than a thousand were trapped, many of them in a space that, just a few hours before, symbolized the country’s economic success. It was a destruction so rapid that it turned a shopping center full of life into a mountain of rubble in less than half a minute. Images after the collapse An avoidable tragedy. Rescue efforts continued for weeks, with survivors found even more than two weeks later under the remains of the building. But the magnitude of the disaster revealed an even more disturbing reality: many victims did not die only from the collapse, but due to subsequent failures in emergency management. Meanwhile, investigations confirmed the most obvious: there was not a single cause, but one after another.accumulation of avoidable errorsfrom the use of low-quality materials to business decisions that prioritized immediate profit over any safety criteria. Monument in memory of the collapse Corruption, punishment and a system in question. The collapse not only destroyed a building, but exposed an entire system. Those responsible, starting with owner Lee Joon, were convicted, including several officials involved in corrupt practices, but the impact was much broader. Subsequent inspections revealed that a significant portion of Seoul’s buildings had very serious structural problemswhich forced us to review regulations and reinforce controls. The Sampoong ceased to be an isolated case and became in a symbol of what happens when a society builds too quickly and too badly. The legacy. Today, where the building stood there is no visible trace of the tragedy, but its lesson remains crystal clear. The disaster was not the result of bad luck … Read more

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