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Renfe thought of France as its great business for the future. Already looking at Portugal thanks to a 19th century decision

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“Portugal is a great opportunity for Renfe.” These are the words that summarize the company’s intentions for the medium-term future, according to Expansion. The newspaper assures that the Ministry of Transportation aspires to turn the neighboring country into the company’s new big business. And the secret is in its track width. “A great opportunity”. “Portugal represents a great opportunity for Renfe. With the 15 units of the Series 106, it will have 30 high-speed trains of variable gauge to which the 13 compositions of the new Series 107 will have to be added in the coming months. In total, 43 trains that are also intended to be approved for circulation in Portuguese territory.” These are the words with which, according to Expansionthe Ministry of Transport defends the change in strategy outside the Spanish borders. The company has been looking for a place in France for some time but This country is putting up all possible barriers to hinder its expansion through French territory. The alternative now passes through Portugal and the gauges have a lot to do with it. The Avrils. At the beginning of July, Talgo and Renfe reached an agreement regarding their Avril trains. These trains have been a headache for Renfe because Talgo has delivered them late, they have presented numerous breakdowns and incidents and they even had to be removed from Madrid-Barcelona because they cracked. The great theoretical advantage is that they are trains that, with the necessary equipment, can jump between the Iberian and international gaugethe European standard for high speed. This allows them to be the only trains that operate the Madrid-Galicia without the need to transfer between trains. This gives it a strategic advantage over Ouigo and Iryo in the face of the upcoming liberalization of these routes. In the agreement, Renfe and Talgo decided that the Avril trains that operate with international gauge were going to be adapted to be able to make this track jump. The cost exceeds 130 million euros but it will allow Renfe to move its trains throughout the national territory… or the entire Iberian Peninsula. A strategic change. With the announcement of this agreement, from the Ministry of Transport they indicated that “Renfe “It will be the only operator with the capacity to provide international high-speed rail services with Portugal, which gives it a clear competitive advantage to lead the Iberian train market.” The phrase is not coincidental. The initial intention was to dedicate some of the trains received from Talgo to France, but the company is encountering so many problems in homologating them that it has shifted its projection to Portugal. And the Portuguese country seems to be a perfect market for the company taking into account its track widths. And the connection between Madrid and Lisbon, which should be completed in 2030 but reach minimum travel time in 2034it has to be built under instructions from the European Union using international gauge. However, the Lisbon-Porto line is being built with Iberian gauge, which limits the Madrid-Lisbon-Porto connection to a single train. The Iberian exceptionality. The situation is complex. The Portuguese railway, like the Spanish one, grew around the Iberian gauge. This isolated both countries from the rest of the continent in this sector but the European Union is working so that the exceptionality is, in part, eliminated. That is why in the agreement reached in October 2025 there is the obligation to bring the international width to Madrid-Lisbon. However, nothing has been said of the high-speed line that Portugal is building between Lisbon and Porto. This line is supported by Iberian gauge and will reach the Spanish border with said gauge. This makes it very difficult for new companies to enter.as we have seen in Galicia. But Renfe has the ace up the Avrils’ sleeve. And since these trains can jump between gauges, Portugal opens up as a very attractive market to expand operations, with trains that can cover Madrid-Oporto passing through Lisbon. Something that no other company in the world can do right now.. Photo | Annie Spratt and Nelson Silva In Xataka | Spain aspires to its most ambitious railway challenge: Madrid-Barcelona in less than two hours. And you have already taken the first step

Inheriting shoes seems like a great idea to save. Biomechanics and podiatrists are very clear that it is a mistake

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In many families it is quite common to see how the older brother or sister grows and leaves some sneakers or boots that look practically new without being able to use them. Here the logic indicates that they can pass it on to the younger brother so that they can take advantage of the money that has been spent and not throw away something that a priori is completely functional. However, what on paper seems like an impeccable financial decision collides head-on with children’s biomechanics and podiatric health. A custom mold. The key to the problem is not in the exterior appearance of the shoe, but in its interior and in the sole. As explained Podiatrist Rebeca Prieto Riaño in a recent article in eldiario.es, an already worn shoe tends to be “molded” to the gait pattern of the first child. Here you have to understand that each person has a unique way of walking and distributing weight. With continued use, the shoe suffers from specific wear zones that end up acting like small invisible wedges, and when a second child puts on that shoe, their foot is forced to adapt to a shape and inclinations that are not their own. It’s a problem. This can significantly alter your stride, favoring everything from biomechanical problems to tendon and muscle injuries, as well as classic blisters or chafing due to inadequate support. It is a recommendation. Although there are no clinical trials today, direct evidence comes, above all, from clinical guidelines and the consensus of specialists like the document Children’s Footwear Advice of the Suffolk Podiatry Paediatrics. But we do have different biomechanical studies that show that footwear modifies the parameters of children’s gait, including speed, step length, ankle and knee ranges of motion, and impact pattern. The biomechanics. Specifically, we see it in a meta-analysis published in 2011 that already concluded that shoes irremediably affect children’s gait. Added to this are more recent experimental works, such as a study published in Gait & Posture in 2023, which demonstrate how asymmetric shoe heights induce reactive changes in gait kinematics and muscle activation. It goes further. In addition to the mechanics of gait, there is a dermatological factor to take into account, since pediatric podiatry guides advise against second-hand footwear due to the risk of infections. Sharing closed shoes that have accumulated sweat and humidity greatly facilitates the transmission of skin pathogens, especially dermatophytes, which are the fungi that cause athlete’s foot. The cotton test. Does this mean we should automatically throw away any shoe our oldest child outgrows? Not necessarily, since experts in children’s orthopedics and podiatry establish footwear that has had residual use as an exception. For example, shoes for a wedding that were worn one afternoon, or wellies that the child wore three times before his foot grew, can be inherited. The essential condition is that there are no signs of adaptation to the previous step. In Xataka | Walking almost barefoot is the new wellness trend: this is how barefoot has arrived everywhere

great Wimbledon match between Sinner and Djokovic with the premiere of ‘Bitter Christmas’ afterwards. Everything in Movistar Plus

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It’s so hot that it’s difficult to make plans outside the home at certain times of the day. Today, Friday is one of those days when you want to be cool at home and, to spend the afternoon, today we have several interesting options. In sport, today it is played one of the best tennis matches that can be seen today: you can see it on Movistar Plus for 9.99 euros per month. But there is more to see. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus The price could vary. We earn commission from these links You can download whatever you want and watch it offline this summer As we always tell you, Movistar Plus is a platform that does not have any type of permanence. That’s great if, for example, you want to see something specific or you just feel like taking a look at their catalog. In addition, you can contract it regardless of the operator and you have to choose two modalities: the Free Plan that includes sports (which is the one that costs 9.99 euros per month) and one with only series, movies and documentaries by 4.99 euros per month. Both can be shared with a friend or family member without problems.. Now, let’s talk about today’s plan. Today, Friday, July 10 at 4:30 p.m., the Wimbledon semifinal is played between Sinner and Djokovic, two of the best tennis players on the circuit. This match will be the prelude to a final that Movistar Plus will also broadcast next Sunday the 12thas well as the women’s final tomorrow Saturday. Now leaving sports aside, it’s time to talk a little about cinema. Today it arrives in the Movistar Plus catalog Pedro Almodóvar’s last film‘Bitter Christmas‘. This joins other films that the platform has and that have won awards of all kinds, such as ‘Sundays‘, ‘Weapons‘, ‘F1: The Movie‘ either ‘One battle after another‘, among many others. Whether you choose the plan with sports or the Free Plan for movies, series and documentaries per 4.99 euros you will have the option of Download whatever you want and watch it offline. This can be great for you this vacation if, for example, you are going to take a plane. One more reason to try the platform this July. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Movistar Plus In Xataka | Movistar Plus activates its Free Plan with complete programs and a lot of content, regardless of which operator you are In Xataka | Less than five euros per month and without permanence: this is the new Movistar Plus plan that you can even share with a friend

We have been believing for decades that the Great Pyramid was built at one time. The latest analysis places it more than 20,000 years earlier

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(Fortunately) the world is full of monuments as ancient as they are impressive, but few, very few, are comparable to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Almost 140 meters high, thousands of years old and an immortal testimony to the power of Ancient Egypt. It has such magnetism that every year they visit it millions of people arrivals from all over the world. But… What if we have been wrong about its origins for decades? What if instead of becoming 2,500 BCas we have always believed, rose up ago more than 20,000 years? What if Pharaoh Cheops was not its true promoter, but simply renewed it? All those questions have been left by launching a new (and controversial) study. What has happened? That Egyptology has just been shaken by unusual news in modern archaeology: a study that has turned upside down the dating (and origins) of the Great Pyramid of Gizaone of the most iconic monuments not only in Egypt or Africa but on the entire planet. Until now, experts agreed that the monument was built in the time of Khufu, around 2589-2566 BCbecoming one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years. For Alberto Doninian Italian engineer from the University of Bologna, that estimate falls short. Very short. In fact, he has published a study in which he traces the origins of the pyramid back to more than 20,000 years. What dates do you handle? After analyzing several points of the pyramid, Donini has come to the conclusion that the reference date to talk about its origins should be another: 22941 BC That is, their calculations indicate that the structure is around 24,900 years old. Before continuing, it is important to clarify one detail: its analysis does not seek to set specific dates, but rather to establish a time frame for the construction of the monument. What does that mean? That, in reality, what Donini has done is calculate that there are 68.2% probability that the period of construction of the pyramid is framed in a window that extends between 38,903 and 10,979 years ago. The calculation of 24,941 years would therefore be a simple arithmetic mean that serves as a reference. If instead of talking about antiquity we talk about calendars, this means that, according to the estimates of the Italian engineer, the most famous structure in Giza was probably built between 36878 and 8954 BC What is it based on? Donini’s work is not controversial only because of its conclusions. It is also because of its methodology, the calculation system it has used. Its main tool is Relative Erosion Method (REM), a formula that dispenses with documentary sources to be based fundamentally on what the rocks say. Literally. What the REM does is analyze the erosion of the pyramid blocks to, based on their level of wear, date them. Said like this, it sounds simple, but what the engineer has done is somewhat more complex: he selected 12 different points spread across the base of the Great Pyramid and then compared their different levels of erosion, looking at aspects such as the holes and cavities opened in the rock by rain or the roots of plants and the natural wear and tear caused by wind, sand and the constant passage of people. And has that been of any use? Yes. The analysis has yielded a disparate range of dates. At one of those twelve points, the REM suggested an estimated age of 5,708 years. In others the estimate was 17,955, 30,375 or even more than 50,000 years. It may sound strange considering that we are talking about a single monument and it is logical to think that all its blocks have been there for the same amount of time, but many factors influence erosion: from the position of each stone, which determines its exposure to wind and rain, to its mineral composition. It’s still a strange thing, isn’t it? Yes. And no. It is true that the engineer obtained very different dates, but this is explained by another peculiarity of the Great Pyramid. The monument did not always have the appearance we see today. In it 1303 AD The area suffered an earthquake that affected the white limestone blocks that originally covered the structure. That material was later reused in buildings in Cairo. Although it may sound like an archaeological tragedy, it offers experts like Donini a real opportunity. The reason? They now have blocks that have been exposed to erosion almost since the construction of the Great Pyramid and others that have only been exposed to erosion for 675 years, when the earthquake left them bare. This contrast partly explains why when applying the REM method Donini obtained such a broad time frame, the same one that later led him to propose an antiquity of 24,941 years. Issue settled, then? No. The study has only served to stir up the debate. And it is more than understandable if we take into account several keys. First, the dating turns upside down everything we thought we knew about one of Egypt’s most famous monuments. Among other things, he questions whether Pharaoh Cheops was its main architect and slips that he could have limited himself to reforming it. Furthermore, Donini’s study has another handicap: it is preliminary and has not been peer-reviewed, which heats up the debate (even) more. He himself has admitted that REM calculations are influenced by factors that must be handled with caution, such as the variability of erosion processes or the wear and tear that mass tourism may have had on certain parts of the base of the pyramid, altering the calculations. Images | Wikipedia, Alessandro Zanini (Unsplash) and 2H Media (Unsplash) Via | 3D Games In Xataka | Egypt is creating a new tourist mega-destination. There are those who see it as a threat to the oldest monastery in the world

880 million and Formula 1 in the spotlight of the great Metro expansion

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When Madrid announced that it will be a Formula 1 World Cup event until next year 2035 the focus was on good connection that you would have by public transportation. Just a few days ago, the Community of Madrid once again stressed this with a controversial video starring Carlos Sainz (Williams driver) in which he claimed that you can get to the circuit from “the city center” in nine minutes when in reality he left a station almost four kilometers from the emblematic Puerta del Sol. Now, the Community of Madrid once again mentions the Madringthe name of the Madrid circuit, in another promotional video. In this case to announce the definitive layout of Metro Line 11, which was not completely confirmed despite the fact that The expansion works in the southern area had already begun. Now, the project is final. The problem is that the “Gran Diagonal” has nothing to do with the original project. And that has raised many blisters in a northern area of ​​Madrid where many have been left out of the project. 880 million euros for a historic expansion Since the project was presented, Madrid was clear that it wanted to completely change the appearance of Line 11. This line only has seven stops spread over about 8 kilometers. With the expansion, the line is expected to measure more than 30 kilometers and will have 20 stops. The Great Diagonal will have a final cost of about 1,100 million euros but it has not been until now when the region has unlocked an expenditure of 880 million euros dedicated mainly to the northern end of the expansion. And here comes the trouble. With the announcement it is confirmed that the line will use two already operational stations such as Mar de Cristal and Terminal 4 of the airport as supports. The rest of the stations are new: IFEMA-Cárcavas, Ciudad de la Justicia, Hospital Isabel Zendal and Valdebebas Norte. In the promotional video, the Community of Madrid highlights that the new Line 11 will connect with the Formula 1 circuit, the Isabel Zendal Nursing Hospital and the future City of Justice. All of them are projects created or defined recently and that have raised controversy over their convenience or not. The health center was built as a “pandemic hospital”in the words of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid. Since the crisis eased, its activity has been very low and it has been studied for a long time how take advantage of it for other medical areas. It was said about Formula 1 that it wouldn’t cost a euro of public money. And the city of Justice is a frozen megaproject that In 2015 it had already cost Madrid residents 105 million euros but what has not yet seen the light. Line 11 aims to be a new handle to bring people to these spaces and events, in addition to the surrounding homes that until now have to deal with the inconveniences of a PAU: gigantic streets that discourage the walk and the use of public transport. But the criticism is especially harsh for those who saw it possible for a new Metro line to reach their homes. Neighbors to the north of Madrid but who are a few kilometers from where the new section of Line 11 will run. And it is that the original design It involved turning off at Arturo Soria (before reaching Mar de Cristal) and heading northwest. Crossing the city to the left and passing under Paseo de la Castellana, one of the main arteries of the city, the new link was projected to the Barrio del Pilar, with its final destination on Avenida de la Illustration. However, In 2020, the detour to the east was already proposedwith destination Valdebebas as it finally happened. Since then, the neighborhood associations They have asked that, at least, the line not stay in Valdebebas and return westwards past the last station currently contemplated to link with the Barrio del Pilar. These associations defend that the initial project would improve the connection of more than 120,000 residents compared to the 30,000 who currently live in the Valdebebas neighborhood. And although the northern zone has focused attention because the modification of the project was substantial, the residents of the southern zone demand new stations that improve their connection with the Metro. And in the southern section, between the current La Fortuna station and Cuatro Vientos, where the line will end connecting with Line 10, new stations will not be excavated either, everything will be a continuous link of more than two kilometers. Photo | Madrid Metro In Xataka | 1,500 tons in weight, 100 meters long and one objective: excavate Metro Line 11 in Carabanchel

the macro study that supports a great longevity ‘hack’

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Science and society in general do not cease in their attempt to achieve a formula to be able to extend life a little more, or at least reach have an older age with a better quality of life. In this sense, there are numerous articles that promise this type of improvement, although logically there is nothing miraculous here, but many different factors influence it. A new rule. A trick that has begun to have a presence among specialists In the world of healthcare it is the 5-2-½ rule. According to this premise, it is enough to sleep five more minutes, do two extra minutes of exercise and eat half a serving more of vegetables a day to mathematically gain an entire year of life expectancy. Its origin. This statement is supported by science, and specifically by a study recently published in The Lancet. The work in this case sought to answer a very specific question: what is the minimum change in our daily habits that achieves a measurable impact on longevity? To find out, the researchers did not take a dozen volunteers, but rather went to the UK Biobank, one of the most complete medical databases, to analyze a total of 59,078 participants with an average follow-up of 8.1 years. The analysis. With all these people they decided to measure sleep time, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, and diet quality using a dietary scoring system. The mathematics. By cross-referencing the data and applying statistical models, the scientists found a “minimum combination” that was statistically associated with adding a year to life expectancy. The exact numbers of the andstudio were: 5 more minutes of sleep a day. 1.9 more minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity daily, which is rounded up to two minutes. 5 points of improvement in the dietary quality index, which is approximately equivalent to half an extra serving of vegetables per day. The small print. As with other similar studies, this is an observational study on a population whose lifestyle habits were studied. But it is not a trial that was 100% controlled, where one group was forced to sleep five more minutes and another not to sleep to compare what happened. And this takes a little weight off it. Furthermore, the “extra year of life” is a statistical model at the population level. This means that, if an entire society applied these slight changes, global life expectancy would increase in mathematical models. The problem is that at the individual level, biology is not that mathematical and that is why you cannot compensate for smoking or a severe genetic disease by eating half an extra tomato for dinner. Microhabits. Despite the nuances, the underlying message of the study is tremendously positive. Historically, public health messages have been overwhelming, advertising phrases such as “do 150 minutes of exercise a week”, “radically change your diet”, “get 8 hours of sleep without fail”. This study scientifically demonstrates the immense power of microhabits. It basically tells us that we don’t need to prepare for a marathon or embrace extreme diets for our body to notice it. Adding a handful of spinach to your meal, getting off the subway a stop earlier to walk for two minutes at a good pace, or going to bed a little earlier are actions with almost zero friction. Images | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | The problem that we read less and less is not a lack of time or discipline: it is that we do not do ‘habit-stacking’

Two 5,000-year-old tombs in Jabal al-Tayr reveal how Egypt learned to build the great pyramids

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The pyramids of Ancient Egypt remain a mystery thousands of years later: we are not even sure how they were made (there are theories that point to ramps and master logistics to hydraulic systems) nor how they reached such a level of knowledge and skill working with stone. Because between a pantheon carved in rock and a colossal pyramid like that of Giza there is a whole world of evolution. Well, at the site of Jabal al-Tayr (Minya) a team of archeology professionals has just found that middle ground. The discovery. The Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt has found a funerary complex that brings together two tombs from the Early Dynastic Period and burials from the Predynastic and the Late Period. The first tomb has a particular geometry: the thickness of its walls becomes thinner as it ascends. The second Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, account for Daily News Egypt that this solution could be the engineering antechamber that made the stepped pyramid and smooth-sided pyramids possible. In short, it may be a clue to how the Egyptians began to understand how to support large masses of stone. Why is it important. Because having burials from different periods in the same space makes it easier to analyze the evolution of funerary architecture in the centuries prior to the construction of the great pyramids. These preliminary studies indicate striking similarities between the design of these newly discovered tombs and the famous tomb of King Den at Abydos. According to El-Leithy, this resemblance reinforces the archaeological importance of Jabal Al-Tayr as a necropolis, both architecturally and for the Egyptian civilization itself: it was used continuously from the Predynastic Period to the Late Period. Context. The evolution of Egyptian funerary architecture began with the mastabas of the first dynasties: a rectangular structure with a flat roof, built of adobe or stone, with a vertical well that went down to the burial chamber. From the mastabas they went to the stepped pyramids. In fact, Djoser’s tomb at Saqqara It started as a mastaba and expanded until it became a step pyramid, the first large stone structure in Egypt. The tombs of Jabal al-Tayr belong to the Early Dynastic Period, that is, to the time before Djoser, when the constructive solution that would make the pyramid possible was still being sought. In detail. Mohamed Abdel Badie explains They probably used the first tomb to extract the stone for reuse, but the preserved sections still contain important details about how it was built at the time, such as cut marks and remains of large pieces of wood that reinforced the walls. The second tomb has almost the same shape but is much better preserved because it was not looted. At the site they also found older burials where there were bodies in a fetal position wrapped in plant fiber mats and accompanied by ceramics from the Naqada II and Naqada III periods, prior to the formation of the Egyptian state. Yes, but. This finding does not clearly demonstrate that the tombs are direct ancestors of the pyramids; at the moment it is a hypothesis based on the design and its resemblance to the tomb of Pharaoh Den in Abydos. The archeology team has yet to determine the exact date of the tombs, who lies there and what relationship they have to the known sites of Abydos and Saqqara. In Xataka | If the question is how the Egyptian pyramids were made, science has an idea: hydraulic systems In Xataka | China’s first pipeline network is 4,000 years old and something revolutionary: it was built without the need for kings or nobles Cover | Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Alex Azabache

While AEMET fears the second great heat wave of the year, meteorologists warn that “we have to prepare for harsher summers”

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At this point in July and with another heat wave showing its teeth starting next week, we can already say that high-latitude blockages are altering the forecast for the summer. And they alter it for the worse: meteorologists They take it for granted since the situation is going to be quite persistent. The data is worrying, but as meteorologist Mercedes Martín says that we have to “prepare for harsher summers” does not mean that “we have to resign ourselves.” “There has never been so much information available as now and, however, it is not always able to transform what we think, feel or make decisions,” explained to National Geographic Spain. And he is somewhat right “it is not to diminish the urgency of the climate crisis, but to prevent the message from always being trapped in the same tone of alarm.” But what exactly does that mean? There are reasons for alarm… Of course there are. Spain has warmed around 1.75 °C since 1961approximately double the global average, and summer is moving dangerously towards 2 °C. Since 1975 there have been registered 12 heat waves in Juneand half are from 2015 onwards: if between 1975 and 2000 there were two, between 2001 and 2025 there were ten. The March 2022 superclimate left PM10 peaks of 3,070 µg/m³ in the southeast. That is, about 68 times the WHO daily limit. And, if that were not enough, the Mediterranean is warming at an especially rapid rate (up to three times faster than other bodies of water). The problem is that we get used to this exceptionality very quickly. And yes, “problem” is the word. This has long since ceased to be something from 2100. June 2026 has been the second warmest June since 1961with an anomaly of 3.2 °C and the MoMo system estimated about 900 deaths attributable to heat that month alone. In France those figures have been much worse. That is, we are not talking about projections or statistics: we are talking about people dying every year. Our inability to translate climate data into accepted and acceptable policies costs lives. And what do we do? Because, as Martín points out, the permanent catastrophic tone saturates, tires and sometimes paralyzes more than it mobilizes. But, on the other hand, turning down the volume just when the numbers are getting worse (the worst fire year in three decades, the second warmest June, hundreds of deaths, etc…) can be read as subtracting urgency. The answer is simpler than it seems. Because, whether we like it or not, the big problem with climate communication has never been drama. It has been the enormous gap between knowing and doing. Although there are many things we can intuit, the truth is that climate change is putting us on an unprecedented path. These uncertainties are added to the difficulty of predicting anything related to the weather and generate the feeling of doing politics blindly. But it is not true: that France have 50 degree exits for the next few weeks is exactly the kind of thing we would expect. That figure will not be reached, it is true: but it contains almost everything. We just have to realize Image | Benbaso – Xataka In Xataka | Europe enjoys the cleanest skies in half a century. And that’s one of the reasons why this summer is burning up.

Air conditioning is the new great political weapon in France: why environmentalists and the extreme right are fighting over it

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The suffocating heat waves that are punishing Europe have caused something unthinkable a few years ago in France, since air conditioning has become a state weapon. In a country historically reluctant to artificial air conditioning, the extreme increase in temperatures has had the ceiling fans and blinds drawn are no longer enoughand in the face of the stress of a population not accustomed to temperatures around 40 ºC, promises have appeared. A debate. According to a recent analysis of the BBCthe debate on air conditioning has dynamited French political lines. On the one hand, the political party led by Marine Le Pen has put on the table a “climate plan” that defends almost universal air conditioning. On the other hand, the green block, historically opposed to these devices due to their environmental impact, has had to swallow saliva and admit that, in certain cases, air conditioning is already an “inevitable” measure. What is promised. To understand the magnitude of the debate, you have to look at the numbers. Le Pen’s party, called the National Group, has proposed a zero-interest loan fund of 20 billion euros so that between 30 and 40 million homes can install air conditioning systems such as reversible heat pumps and improve their insulation. And we are facing a great political strategy, because logically, in the midst of suffocating heat, promising aid to have a tool that reduces temperatures at home is a magnet for votes. However, these measures clash with the climate adaptation plans that are in force in the French country. In Xataka France has been determined to rob Spain of its position as a data center power in Europe The climate problem. The environmental bloc is at a crossroads, since massive air conditioning triggers energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions if the network is not 100% renewable or nuclear. But denying air conditioning to the vulnerable population, such as in hospitals, is political suicide and an unaffordable public health risk. Hence his speech has veered from prohibition to resignation to the “inevitable.” The poor adaptation. If we go to the more technical side of this debate, local media such as, for example, Le Monde or the Institute of Climate Economics have been categorical in classifying the mass adoption of air conditioning under the term “maladaptation”. This means that a short-term solution to climate change is being proposed that will end up aggravating the problem in the long term. Air conditioning is the textbook example, since, as experts point out, an air conditioner does not “destroy” heat, it simply removes it from the interior of the home and spits it out onto the street. A vicious circle. Climate models in dense cities like Paris have shown that if all buildings turned on the air conditioning at once during a heat wave, the temperature outside could rise by an additional 1°C to 2°C, further exacerbating the problem. But also, while people who can afford it cool off in their living rooms, people without resources find themselves on a much more aggressive “urban heat island.” In Xataka In the midst of an extreme heat wave, the French have started painting their windows with white chalk. It makes perfect sense France’s plan. Beyond the electoral promises that are made at a time when we are approaching the country’s presidential elections, France’s road map works under the premise of preparing the country for a +4 ºC warming scenario. To address this, the possibility of renewing the insulation of buildings, replacing asphalt with trees and creating urban cooling systems with centralized underground cold water networks that are more efficient and less harmful than having millions of individual devices on facades is being considered. In Xataka |AEMET asks that we prepare because “starting on Friday” a rise is expected that will put Spain “eight degrees above normal” (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news Air conditioning is the new great political weapon in France: why environmentalists and the extreme right are fighting over it was originally published in Xataka by José A. Lizana .

After having avoided the worst of the great European heat wave, Spain has just launched the “Iberian oven”

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The countdown has begun. If we pay attention to the European weather forecast model, in Spain all the mechanisms have just been activated to find temperatures between 42 and 44 degrees in a good part of the center, west and south of the country. In recent years, rivers of ink have flowed about the idea of ​​the ‘Iberian oven’. Well, now we have it back. What exactly is the “Iberian oven”? Although we associate extreme heat with the eruptions of Saharan air masses, that is not usually the case. Not only because, no matter how hot the air arrives from Africa, it usually comes with suspended particles that block the maximums. But because we don’t need it: Spain has more than enough capacity to turn its own air into hell. And it happens a lot: usually when a mass of warm air (often combined with Saharan air) is blocked over the Peninsula. High pressures, clear skies, almost absolute stability… all of this causes the air to descend, compress and increase temperatures greatly. It is not uncommon for them to exceed 45 degrees in these situations. And is that going to affect us now? The forecast is quite clear: more than 40 degrees in the interior and west with anomalies of more than eight degrees above normal for this time of year. Between Sunday the 5th and Tuesday the 7th there will be peaks of up to 35 in the north. And none of that is going to be the most exasperating: the worst is going to be the nights that, in many places, are not going to drop below 25 degrees. Is it a “heat dome”? Well, the term ‘heat dome’ is a copy of the English “heat dome” and became fashionable after the 2021 pacific northwest episode. In addition to its ‘spectacularity’, it is usually used because it has no technical criteria behind it. Unlike heat waves, anything with a configuration slightly resembling a “heat dome” is a heat dome. Yes, yes, it will be; although it doesn’t help much that it is. Why should we care? Above all, because it is not an isolated event. Europe has not yet left the most severe heat wave on record. The dead are counted in the hundreds (orpossibly in the thousands). Continuing to chain extremely high temperatures is not good news. Image | Tropical Tidbits In Xataka | In 2014, French television imagined August 2050 as hell. This week’s heat wave has already overcome it

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