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the map that divides Spain in two through its two large hydrographic basins

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This curious map that divides the Spanish state into blue and red could represent political or administrative borders, but the partition is much more curious and striking: it shows the final destination of each drop of rain that falls in Spain. Each line you see is one of the many rivers that run through this part of the Iberian Peninsula and its color reveals where it will end: in the Mediterranean Sea or in the Atlantic Ocean. The result is one of the most beautiful and revealing hydrological portraits of the Iberian Peninsula. Based on data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, the cartographer and GIS consultant Joe Davies has put together This map of watersheds that reveals the invisible spine that runs through the state, the continental watershed. The result is surprising to say the least. In addition to the colors, the route is more or less marked depending on the flow of the river, thus revealing which rivers are the largest. That invisible line slides approximately through the Iberian System and the Pyrenean foothills, dividing the territory into two water worlds. There are several things that draw attention to the image: the first thing is the proportion. The Atlantic takes up about two thirds of the territory. But also that although Spain “looks” towards the Mediterranean, its rivers flow mostly to the west. There is a geological reason that explains it: the Central Plateau It tilts slightly towards the Atlantic, a legacy of the Hercynian tectonics that shaped the Iberian base 300 million years ago. The curious layout of the continental watershed in Spain He Ebro river is the great traitor: Born in Cantabria, just 20 kilometers from the Cantabrian Sea. By geographical logic one would expect it to be Atlantic, but no: its entire large basin is painted the color of the Mediterranean, where it empties after traveling almost a thousand kilometers. The Pyrenees functioned as a barrier and the Iberian and Catalan Systems as a funnel, so the river was forced to flow westwards. A striking example of how the orography is capable of hijacking a river and taking it to another sea different from the one where it would belong. Another river that constitutes a curious case is the Segura: it originates in the Sierra de Segura in Jaen, more than 300 kilometers from the sea. Afterwards, it travels an enormous distance to empty into Alicante with a low flow, something that can be seen in comparison with neighboring Gualquivir. The explanation lies in the extreme aridity of its basin and the intense agricultural pressure. Where does each drop of rain that falls in Spain go. Joe Davies with data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge As one might expect, Galicia is very red on Davies’ map: it is a truly dense tangle that contrasts with the rest, especially if we move away from the Cantabrian coast. Galicia receive between 1,500 and 2,000 mm of annual precipitation, on a substrate of practically impermeable granites and slates, so the water does not filter, it drains. The result is that density of rivers and streams, all Atlantic, short and mighty. It is the region that best illustrates the direct relationship between geology, climate and river network. If the map were of all of Europe, Galicia would still stand out. The map also gives us unthinkable colorslike Pamplona being colored in Blue despite being a northern city extremely close to the Cantabrian Sea: its waters go to the Mediterranean through the Ebro and its tributaries. Madrid is red: the Manzanares-Jarama-Tajo takes it to the Atlantic. It has the continental divide very close, less than 80 kilometers away. On either side of that barrier, the water that falls in the same downpour ends up in seas separated by thousands of kilometers. 3D version with inverted colors. Joe Davies with data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge In Xataka | The definitive tool for a historic year of astronomy in Spain: the light pollution map In Xataka | Much more than tourism, cars and oil: the entire industry that Spain exports to the world, gathered in one graph Cover | Joe Davies

Two gigantic submarine cables between Spain and Italy, among the large European electrical interconnection projects

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The European Union is immersed in a full energy transformation at two levels: the transition towards renewable sources and a structural change deep, so that success depends less on each country’s individual generation and more on the ability to move that energy efficiently across borders. In this framework, the European Network of Electricity Transmission Network Operators (ENTSO-E) works on a continental grid that eliminates technical bottlenecks. An example: the energy island called the Iberian Peninsula. The objective is for energy to flow from areas with surplus to others with deficit, preventing it from being trapped without a commercial outlet due to lack of transportation capacity. With that logic, the ENTSO-E just published its complete portfolio of the Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2026 with almost 200 transmission projects, 22 of them completely new. Among these novelties there are two particularly important for the Iberian Peninsula: they connect Spain with Italy. The cables. Apollo Link and Iberia Link are two high-voltage direct current submarine cable projects that would cross the Mediterranean to connect the Iberian Peninsula with northern Italy. They are independent of each other but share the same mission: to create a direct electric highway between an area with great renewable generation capacity such as Spain and one of the industrial regions with the highest electricity consumption in Europe, northern Italy. None of the projects has support from the transport network operators of each state, Red Eléctrica and Terna, respectively, but rather They are initiatives of private investors of Italian origin whose identity has not been revealed. Why is it important. The emerging continental grid is vital for the decarbonization of the continent as it allows the full use of renewable energy surpluses: Spain is one of the leaders in solar and wind energy (Italy stands out in solar, but not so much in wind) and this interconnection makes it possible that when there is excess production in the Iberian Peninsula, that clean energy can supply Italian demand instead of being left without a commercial outlet due to lack of transport capacity. The foreseeable net flow would be predominantly from west to east, although the connection would also allow energy to be imported from Italy in times of shortage on the Peninsula. But for the Iberian Peninsula it is even more relevant: this future east-west corridor allows its surpluses to be evacuated to the rest of Europe, thus ending its limited interconnection capacity. And also something essential: this connection provides security of supply (as evidenced the blackout) and the possibility of coupling markets to reduce electricity prices for the final consumer. Context. The Iberian Peninsula is considered an energy island within Europe. Its interconnection capacity with France round 3,000 MW, far below of the 15% target of installed capacity established by European regulations. And this has consequences: in times of high renewable generation, prices become negative within the peninsula and surplus energy cannot be exported. In times of scarcity, it cannot be easily imported either. This is just one of the projects that seek to end the energy isolation of the peninsula: they are also on the table the Bay of Biscay submarine cable planned for 2028 and included in all PCI lists since 2013. And under construction is a new northern interconnection of Portugal with Galicia which will add an extra 1,000 MW of exchange capacity. On the other hand, the trans-Pyrenean projects in Navarra and Aragon they are still blocked and with no date on the horizon to unclog them. Retail. Some technical curiosities of both cables: Apollo Link is the more ambitious of the two. It consists of an interconnection between Spain and northern Italy with a capacity of 2 GW planned to enter service in 2032. It would implement the most modern standard for long-distance underwater transmission for bidirectional control and minimize losses, bipolar HVDC technology with VSC converters. It would operate with the standard adopted by the European industry of 525 kV, facilitating interoperability. Its capacity allows it to supply several million homes. According to its promoters, it would generate more than 300 million euros annually in net social benefits. Iberia Link shares the same technology and operating voltage, but has a lower capacity: 1.2 GW. What distinguishes it is its length: 1,034 kilometers of submarine cable between southern Spain and northern Italy, which would make it one of the longest underwater electrical links in the world. It has no published entry into service date. Specifications of both cables. TYNDP map Yes, but. That they are included in the TYNDP 2026 is the prerequisite to qualify for the status of Project of Common Interest that opens the doors to community financing and an accelerated regulatory framework, but for the moment the situation of both is “under consideration”, which means that they are in the study phase and do not yet have European regulatory approval: they will have to pass the cost-benefit analyzes of the ENTSO-E to take the first step to materialize (we will know in the last quarter of 2026). And furthermore, they do not have the support of state operators, nor permits or approved layout because they are in preliminary phases. Likewise, the history of blocking similar projects invites caution. But even if they became a reality, these projects would only partially mitigate the electrical isolation of the peninsula: they are only 3.2GW of the 10-15GW of total interconnection necessary to truly influence the European market. In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it Cover | ENTSOE

this is the megaproject to link the large airports of Istanbul

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Türkiye is geographically and historically the link that unites Asia and Europe and if we talk about airports, Istanbul is immense and strategic for transportation from the West to the East. However, the Ottoman city of 15 million people is literally split into two continents because of the Bosphorus. A strait of just 700 meters that generates a colossal and chronic demand for mobility that no existing infrastructure has completely satisfied. Until now. Türkiye has just closed agreements with six of the world’s largest development banks to finance the most ambitious work in its modern railway history: a train line of 125 kilometers and 8,119 million dollars to join both shores. The project. It is called the Northern Ring Railway and it is a 125 kilometer long train line that will run through the north of Istanbul from Halkalı, on the European side, to Gebze in the Asian industrial zone. You will do so by crossing the Bosphorus through the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. It is a high-capacity train with double electrified track designed to transport both people and heavy goods: on the passenger sections it will reach 160 km/h and on the freight section 120 km/h, as collects the World Bank technical document. In addition to connecting both sides of the city, it will also link the city’s two major airports by rail for the first time: Istanbul Airport in Europe and Sabiha Gökçen in Asia. Why is it important. Because Istanbul is the geographical hinge between Europe and Asia and this railway will become part of one of the great international logistics corridors: it is more than a train that unites the city, it is geopolitical infrastructure. According to the Minister of TransportAccording to Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the line could transport 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of cargo per year, which would greatly change the country’s transportation landscape. Finally, and from an airport point of view, connecting its two international airports by train would solve an unthinkable mobility deficit in large cities like London. Context. Istanbul already has a railway crossing under the Bosphorus: the tunnel Marmarayinaugurated in 2013. At the time it was an engineering milestone, but today it is not enough: it works as an urban freight train and its capacity to move goods is marginal (only at night and with restrictions). The rest of the crossings between the continent within Ottoman territory are made by road (the three great bridges of the Bosphorus), with the logistical, traffic congestion and environmental cost that this entails. Alleviating this burden and making it more efficient has been a pending issue for Türkiye for decades. In figures. We have already been breaking down some of the figures in which the operation will be closed, still in its initial phase: Secured financing: 6,750 million dollars of the total (8,119 million dollars) from six international financial entities. Forecast of 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of goods per year. Total length of the line: 125 kilometers. With 44 tunnels and 42 bridges. How are they going to do it?. The line will use the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the city’s third major bridge, as a Bosphorus crossing point. The interior layout is resolved with 44 tunnels (more than 59 kilometers underground) and 42 bridges that add another 22 kilometers in height. That approximately 65% ​​of its route takes place in structure gives an idea of the technical difficulty and cost what it means to build in such a complex orographically urban environment. Thus, the north of Istanbul is a terrain full of hills, ravines and seismic activity that invite you to avoid filling and clearing as much as possible. Regarding financing, the six entities committed They cover practically all the relevant geopolitical blocs: the West with the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian with the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and OPEC, from the Middle East. The contribution of all of them amounts to 6,750 million and the other remaining 1,400 million must presumably be covered with the Turkish State’s own funds. The roadmap. The project is still in an early stage, preparing for the construction competition. The Ottoman government’s idea is to deliver the site before the year, at which time the works will begin. In addition, the banking agreements are still preliminary, so the negotiation and signing process still remains. Although the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey plans to start the works before the end of 2026, the international financial organizations that support the project place the operational completion of the infrastructure on the horizon of December 2032 given the complexity of the undertaking. Yes, but. Although the project is of capital importance for the country and global logistics, as evidenced by the international financial support, its initial stage is one of its main handicaps: it is subject to negotiations and delays that can complicate everything. And even if it does materialize, the cost can skyrocket. The World Bank Environmental Impact Assessment classifies the environmental and social risk of the project as “Substantial” due to the great seismic risk (Istanbul is on the North Anatolian Fault) of its route, which crosses the green lungs of the city (so it will affect critical water basins and habitats) or the risks to citizens in terms of annoyances such as noise or vibrations. In Xataka | 20 kilometers, 22 months and a gigantic challenge: connecting China and Mongolia by train through a brutal desert In Xataka | From the Atlantic to the Pacific in less than seven hours: Mexico wants to build its own “Panama Canal” Cover | Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-21752 – NASA Earth Observatory, Public domain and Büşra Salkım

The great battle of the Ebro is not between Murcia and Aragón, it is between the headwaters of the rivers, the large cities and the delta

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The image is straight out of a movie: a team of divers diving into the cold waters of the Arija reservoir to dredge more than three meters of silt accumulated in front of its floodgates. It’s not a whim, It’s the only way to remove them.: that is, the consequence of having hundreds of infrastructures that have not been thoroughly maintained for decades. But, above all, the most striking symptom of a very deep problem: the sediments are killing, at the same time, the reservoirs and the rivers. Reservoirs due to loss of capacity (Mequinenza has lost since its opening more capacity than the sum of the last three reservoirs put into operation), rivers because deltas need sediment to stay alive. The Ebro, without going any further, needs 1.2 million tons per year. And the authorities know it. In fact, since 2003, the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation has been carrying out controlled floods in the lower section of the river to mobilize sediments towards Tortosa. The problem is that each controlled flood moves about 10,000 tons; that is, two orders of magnitude below what is necessary. It’s like emptying a swimming pool with a coffee spoon. So in the last few months, something has changed. Since November 2024, the CHE began a series of measures to try to fix it. Things like extending the discharge by two days, starting it from much higher up (El Grado in Huesca and Camarasa in Lleida) and draining Ribarroja more than usual to mobilize all the possible sediments. Will it solve the problem? It’s not clear, but it doesn’t seem like it. We have to take into account that, only in the Ebro basin, there are many reservoirs and that is an inevitable brake. Calculations say that of the five million tons that were brought to the Mediterranean before the reservoirs, only between 100,000 and 200,000 now arrive. It would take around 100 floods to reach the appropriate figures. And no, we don’t have enough water for that. So? That is the big problem, seeing what we do. We must not forget that the Ebro delta supports 20,000 hectares of rice fieldstens of thousands of inhabitants and is a biosphere reserve. The loss of wetlands and their salinization have a direct impact on agriculture, fishing and tourism. Come on: the interests are crossed and they confront people hundreds of kilometers away. We are entering a new era of hydrological wars in which we are all against each other. Image | Sinto MQZ In Xataka | The Ebro is filling with brown prawns, an invasive species that we are going to find more and more on our plates.

If the question is how much of Europe is within range of Iran’s missiles, the answer is simple: a fairly large

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In recent decades, the missile range It has become a silent measure of a country’s strategic power. Every few hundred kilometers added to their radius of action change not only technical maps, but also political calculations, alliances and perceptions of security. In this game of distances, Europe already it doesn’t appear that far away as before. From 1,300 to 3,000 km. It we count yesterday. Iran has built its deterrence on a missile family medium range (the Shahab-3, Sejjil, GhadrEmad or Khorramshahr) with ranges that start at 1,300 kilometers and are around 2,000–2,500 kilometers in most configurations, although certain variants of the Khorramshahr could approach 3,000 if they reduce payload. That threshold is what changes the European map, and the reason is very simple. With 2,000 kilometers, the eastern Mediterranean and southeastern Europe are clearly within the radiusand with 3,000, the arc of threat extends into the heart of the continent. The difference, therefore, is not technical, it is strategic. The eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus has been the clearest sign that the border is no longer theoretical. British bases of Akrotiri and Dhekeliaused as logistics and aerial projection nodes, are fully within range of both ballistic missiles and long-range drones such as the Shahed-136. In fact, Greece enters in the same arch, with Souda Bay in Crete within 2,300–2,400 kilometers from Iran. Athens, Sofia and Bucharest are among the capitals that fit comfortably within the 2,000 kilometer radius. Türkiye and Iraq: the exposed belt. Türkiye is located in the first critical strip. Incirlik, just over 1,000 kilometers from Tehran, is high value target for its role in allied architecture and its link to the nuclear sharing scheme. Kürecik, with its AN/TPY-2 radar, is the forward “eye” of the anti-missile shield and therefore a logical target in any prior suppression scenario. In Iraq, bases like Ain al-Asad or Erbil, in addition to the NATO mission in Baghdad, are not only within ballistic range, but also in the radius of drones and networks of militias supported by Tehran. Central Europe: the gray area. When the second and third arcs of the map are projected, cities appear like Budapest, Vienna or Bratislava on the periphery of the estimated range. Bucharest clearly enters the range of 2,000–2,500 kilometers, which places the base Aegis Ashore of Deveselu in a sensitive position within the maximum Iranian perimeter. If Khorramshahr really reached 3,000 kilometers, and that remains to be seen, the threat contour would touch cities like Berlin and Rome. Of course, just another hypothesis, but the pressure is expanding from the eastern flank towards the political center of Europe. The pieces of the shield and their limits. The Aegis Ashore system in Romaniathe one located in Poland and the Arleigh Burke destroyers in the Mediterranean they form the backbone of defense against Middle Eastern vectors. Germany, furthermore, has added the Arrow 3 system to reinforce its upper interception layer. However, any attack would have to fly over monitored airspace. like Türkiye, Iraq or Syriawhich adds operational complexity and interception windows. The shield exists, there is no doubt, but it does not eliminate the risk equation. Drones and saturation. Impossible to ignore it. Beyond ballistic missiles, Iran has turned attack drones into strategic multipliers. With ranges of up to 2,000–2,500 kilometers and costs much lower than missiles, they can be launched in waves to wear down defenses. Its previous use against British facilities in Cyprus demonstrates that the geographical barrier is no longer an automatic shield. The combination of expensive and cheap systems complicates defense. Underground and asymmetrical doctrine. As we count yesterday, the construction of “underground cities” to store and manufacture missiles is part of a strategy designed to compensate for the absence of a modern air force in Iran. Since 1979, sanctions pushed Tehran to invest in rockets, tunnels and technological alliances with other states, turning the missile into your main tool of deterrence. This asymmetric logic does not seek to equal the West in air and sea, but rather to impose cost and vulnerability from land. What changes strategically. As long as the effective range remains around 2,000 kilometers, the threat is mainly concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and southeast Europe. If the actual ceiling is close to 3,000 km, the european political map enters the calculation. The difference between 2,400 and 3,000 kilometers is not a technical nuance, because it is the line that separates the periphery of the continental core. In that margin, a priori, the perception of risk for European capitals and the credibility of allied deterrence are at stake. Image | Mahdi Marizad, Defense Intelligence Agency, Mehr News Agency In Xataka | The arrival of the B-2s to Iran can only mean one thing: the search for the greatest threat to the United States has begun In Xataka | Iran has just attacked a base in Europe: the paradox of Spain is that it condemns the war, but the US does not need to ask to use its bases

Since we were children we have been told that Jupiter is enormous, colossal, exaggeratedly large. Turns out not so much.

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There are things that we learn in childhood that accompany us throughout our lives and one of them is to recite the Solar System at once, which has its disadvantages: for those of us who are already old, mentioning Pluto (which It is no longer a planet) either make mistakes when estimating distances interplanetary. Another classic misconception is the size of Jupiter. Data from the Juno mission published in Nature Astronomy They change the shape and size of the colossus of the Solar System. Jupiter is flatter and smaller than we thought. We knew that Jupiter was the largest planet in the Solar System, a gaseous colossus whose mass exceeded that of the rest of the planets combined, which gave it the power to be almost the conductor of the orchestra (with the permission of the Sun) as long as its gravity had a lot of weight. Its large magnetic shield protects its moons from solar radiation, it has iconic clouds and storms in astronomy and its Great Red Spot It exceeds the Earth in size. But there is something wrong with its shape and size. The Context. The missions Voyager and Pioneerdating back to the 1970s, established figures that today we read in science books: that Jupiter has an equatorial radius of 71,492 kilometers and a polar radius of 66,854 kilometers. With this model, the planet was assimilated as a sphere flattened at the poles (oblate spheroid). These dimensions were calculated with just six indirect measurements with profiles of radio occultation. The discovery. Because what Juno has seen shows that the equatorial radius is approximately 8 kilometers smaller and the polar radius is about 24 kilometers smaller than previous missions said. Qualitatively, Jupiter is flatter. The first thing that comes to mind is: How important are eight kilometers on a planet 140,000 kilometers wide? Well scientifically, it has it. In fact, it’s the difference between whether the laws of physics fit or not. Why is it important. Well, because although the difference is comparatively minor, the fact that it is smaller and has a flatter shape has thermodynamic implications. Thus, it suggests a colder atmosphere enriched with heavy elements that better suit what the Galileo probe measured in 1995. Additionally, having accurate geometry is essential to understanding what’s inside and interpreting the gravity data provided by Juno, so we can accurately map how its mass is distributed inside and how hydrogen behaves under extreme pressures. On the other hand, knowing Jupiter better is getting closer to the recipe of how the Earth was formed and going beyond: facilitating the understanding of thousands of other exoplanets giants that we are discovering in the stars. Radio occultation operation diagram. MPRennie Wikipedia Juno’s look. Both Pioneer and Voyager and Juno use radio occultation, that is, they use the same physical principle. The radio occultation technique consists of measuring how a planet’s atmosphere bends and slows down the radio signals of a probe when it is hidden behind it. By analyzing the delay and deviation of these waves from the Earth, the scientific team can precisely calculate the density and pressure and therefore the exact shape of the planet. Of course, from a technological point of view there has been half a century of evolution and it is noticeable in terms of quality due to its multiband operation, precision and repetition. Thus, the probes of the 70s mainly used one radio band while Juno uses two, which allows, among other things, to eliminate noise. Likewise, the original ones were passing missions in front of the planned June orbit, that is, we have gone from having six points to an almost complete map. And finally, ground-based tracking systems are night and day when it comes to measuring changes in frequency and signal arrival time. In Xataka | We have been deceived by the distances of the Solar System: the closest neighbor to Neptune is Mercury In Xataka | We knew that there was water on Mars, but not how much. It turns out that 3.37 billion years ago an ocean covered half the planet Cover | NASA Hubble Space Telescope

Ariane 64 debuts with large Amazon payload in orbit

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Putting large payloads into low orbit is not just a technical issue, it is also a strategic decision. When the figure is around 20 tons, it is easy to think about Falcon 9than SpaceX, but that is not the only possible path. Europe has just demonstrated this with the operational debut of Ariane 64, the most powerful version of Ariane 6which has already completed a real mission and has successfully deployed 32 satellites of a constellation into orbit. First flight. The VA267 mission It took off today, February 12, from the Guiana Space Center and marked the operational debut of the aforementioned rocket. As confirmed by ArianeGroupthe launcher successfully placed the payload into orbit and completed the mission after 1 hour and 54 minutes.” The result not only validates the performance of the new launcher in real conditions, it also inaugurates the first of 18 missions that Amazon has contracted with Arianespace. The version with four lateral thrusters. Within the Ariane 6 family, Ariane 64 is the configuration designed for the most demanding missions in terms of mass and cargo volume. This places its capacity at around 20 tons towards low Earth orbit, approximately double what Ariane 62 allows with two lateral thrusters. That jump explains its role in large-scale commercial deployments, such as entire satellite constellations. In addition, the program foresees additional performance increases throughout the year with the introduction of new engines P160C in the solid fuel lateral thrusters. Ariane 64 on the launch pad before mission VA267 Three first times. VA267 brought together several premieres in a single release and all of them define the leap in scale of the new European system. ArianeGroup first identifies the inaugural use of Ariane 64 in its four-sided booster configuration, which made it possible to deploy the aforementioned more than 30 satellites into orbit. Added to this is the first use of the 20-meter fairing, designed to protect the dispenser during the initial phases of the flight and which places the total height of the launcher at 62 meters. Previous missions with the 14-meter hull and Ariane 62 were around 56 meters. Choreography in orbit. Beyond the visible milestones, the mission required a precise sequence after liftoff to ensure the safe release of the satellites. As we can see in the official broadcastthe launcher detached from the side thrusters and fairing in the first minutes of flight, after which the upper stage assumed orbital insertion through carefully timed ignitions. The deployment began approximately 90 minutes after launch and was extended during sequential releases. Satellite deployment in live broadcast Evolution of Project Kuiper. The deployment is part of a broader space infrastructure plan. Amazon Leo, evolution of the previous one Project Kuiperis conceived as a low-orbit satellite system intended to provide fast, low-latency internet to communities far from conventional networks. With the new thirty satellites in orbit, the total rises above 200, bringing the company closer to its goal of global connectivity. Turning point for European access to space. With the first flight of Ariane 64 carried out as planned and the satellites already deployed, the new launcher leaves the technical validation stage behind and enters effective service. The real test begins now, when operational continuity becomes as relevant as initial success. Images | ArianeGroup In Xataka | Venus has always seemed to us to be one of the least interesting planets. That just changed thanks to a discovery

with a large amount of water but no trace of polar cold

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January is going to say goodbye with great weather instability that we are already experiencing in our flesh throughout the entire Spanish territory. If we look at the weather maps for this week that begins today, the conclusion is quite unanimous. both in the AEMET as in the European ECMWF prediction model: stability has been broken. Starting today we enter a regime of humid winds accompanied by rainfall well above average on the Atlantic slopewith special impact on Galicia and the central system. Rain, a lot of rain. If we look at the forecasts on a national scale, we are facing very marked rainfall this week. And we are not talking about normal rains, but rather accumulated ones that in the northeast could exceed the usual average for these dates by 60%. Something that responds to saying goodbye to the storm Ingrid to give way to the storm Joseph that will affect Galicia above all. Galicia is one of the points where accumulations are expected to reach 90 liters per extra square meter of anomaly with peaks of up to 150 liters per square meter in orographic points. But mountain systems such as the Sierra de Gredos, the Pyrenees and the high areas of Andalusia will also receive significant amounts of water and snow due to the orographic enhancement of the southwest winds. The AEMET. In a post on his blog, The public agency points out that this week will be marked by the passage of “fronts associated with Atlantic storms, which would leave rain in most of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.” Likewise, it points to the great intensity that they will have in Galicia, which will undoubtedly bear the brunt throughout this week. The thermal paradox. One of the key points that highlight the predictions is in the thermometer. Anyone could imagine very low temperatures accompanying this amount of precipitation that is expected, but the reality is very different, since we are not facing a polar cold wave. The models indicate in this case that since the winds come from the Atlantic, the air arrives warm and loaded with humidity. This will keep temperatures above the climatic measurement as the maximum temperatures will be between 10 and 16ºC, while the minimum temperatures will remain between 8ºC and 12ºC, avoiding severe frosts in low areas. The snow. In this sense we can rest assured, since according to the AEMET, the snow will be limited mainly to the mountain systems of the peninsula. However, we must be attentive to Wednesday, January 28 and Thursday, January 29, since a specific drop in elevation after the passage of a cold front could leave snowfall in areas of the northern plateau and medium-low elevations, although it will be a transitory episode within a generally mild environment. Why does this happen? To understand this carousel of storms you have to look at the index of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Currently, it is in a negative phase, which means that the Azores anticyclone weakens or shifts, allowing storms to circulate at lower latitudes (i.e. over Spain) instead of deviating towards northern Europe. Images | AEMET In Xataka | We have always believed that London is very rainy and that Barcelona is not. The only problem is that it’s a lie

IKEA has had to close seven large stores in China. It is the symptom of a much more important trend

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The real estate market was the great economic engine in China, but currently it is plunged into a deep crisis from which it does not seem that it will come out soon. Houses are not sold and, consequently, not as much furniture is sold either. If we add to this an increasingly strong online market and competitors with very aggressive prices, it is not surprising that IKEA is not doing very well. Seven fewer stores. IKEA China has announced which will close seven of its stores on February 2. These are seven large stores, known as ‘blue box’, located in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Nantong, Xuzhou, Ningbo and Zhejiang. After the closure, there will be 34 more operational stores in the country. Change of strategy. IKEA emphasizes that “we will move from large-scale expansion to focused development.” Its strategy is to move away from large stores and focus on local commerce. They plan to open ten small stores in the next two years, starting with the Dongguan store scheduled for next February. This strategy contrasts with the one they are following in other countries like the United Kingdom either USAwhere what they are closing are some small stores opened after the pandemic. Competence. As we said, the Chinese real estate crisis is one of the reasons why sales have fallen, but not the only one. The Swedish giant faces other difficulties, such as the emergence of new local competitors that offer Much lower prices and much faster deliveries. In this context, it makes sense that IKEA wants to focus on small stores and strengthen its online channel. In fact, recently They opened a store on JD.com. Online presence. In statements to South China Morning Posteconomist Fan Xinyu, attributes the closure to “a highly developed online sales market in China, a trend that has reduced the survival margin of physical points of sale.” It is estimated that in 2024 in China They delivered 5,400 packets per secondmaking it the largest online marketplace in the world. In this sense, we can say that in China it is more common to place an order online than to go to a large store such as IKEA. IKEA China. The Swedish company opened its doors in China in 1998 and went on to open 41 large stores. The company has not published financial data, but China continues to be among the ten markets where they sell the most. According to ReutersChina accounts for 3.5% of all IKEA global sales. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | The founder of Ikea was one of the richest men on the planet, but his most famous trick is available to everyone

the first large pure hydrogen turbine to fight renewable waste

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Talking about renewable energies is talking about China. Although they continue to burn coal and gas and want to become an oil power, the country is positioning itself as the major player in renewables. Also of the ‘megastructures’. And, combining both, we have Jupiter I. It is the first 30 MW class turbine in the world that works with pure hydrogen, it has just been launched. light and they aspire for it to be the solution to one of the biggest renewable energy problems. Take advantage of surplus energy. Jupiter I. Like practically everything that has to do with energy and China, the numbers of this plant are, to say the least, striking. Now we will get into the fact that it is the first 30 MW class turbine that runs on pure hydrogen. There are others in the world that operate in pilot mode on a scale of 5 or 10 MW, but they are natural gas turbines that have been converted. Jupiter I has been designed from the ground up as a pure hydrogen machine that, in combined cycle mode, can generate 48 MWh. It is estimated that it is enough to satisfy the daily demand of more than 5,500 homes. Those responsible for the turbine they claim that the machine “can use more than 30,000 m³ of hydrogen per hour, which calculated annually is the equivalent of 500 million kWh.” In perspectiveit’s like filling the gigantic Hindenburg airship 25 times every hour. And the key to this is that it is electricity stored in the form of hydrogen pure hydrogen. Although it has not fully caught on in sectors such as utility vehicles, hydrogen has the potential to be one of the fuels that helps achieve decarbonization objectives. It all depends on its color: green is achieved through renewable energy and black through burning coal, for example. Turbines are classified according to the type of fuel they burn and the percentage of hydrogen in the mixture. There are those that use only up to 20% H2, others that use 50% H2 and those that use pure hydrogen, which operate entirely with this fuel. They are usually pilot or demonstration units, but Jupiter 1 is the first of its kind in which all its systems (combustion chamber, injection and flame control) are optimized for that fuel. Megaplant. The turbine is not isolated. It is located in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and is part of a larger system. It is inside a 500 MW wind farm. It is not an astronomical figure considering what we are used to, but it is important to remember that not all the energy produced by renewables is stored correctly. Much of it is wasted, either because there are not enough batteries, or because it is not consumed when needed or because it is stored and lost. How it works. That’s where Jupiter I comes into play. The system works through a kind of closed cycle of electricity – hydrogen – electricity. When wind turbines generate more energy than the grid can consume and it is not going to be stored in batteries, turbines like this one can use that excess to produce green hydrogen. Once produced, it is stored in tanks, and at the Ordos plant there are a dozen of 1,875 m3 each. If the grid is stable and can operate well with renewables, that hydrogen is stored there, but in times of greater demand or when renewables cannot satisfy it, that stored green hydrogen comes into play to produce emissions-free and immediately accessible electricity. Fighting deserts. Placing a hydrogen turbine right in a renewable plant solves the challenge of wasting electricity, but also that of transporting hydrogen, which we have already seen is complicated. Precisely, that is where those responsible say that the technology has great potential. It is in the deserts where China has found an oasis of renewable energy, and having turbines of this style can further enhance those megascale energy projects – greater than 1 GW – that China is deploying. Now we have to see if it fulfills what it promises, since it is the first of a pilot project, but according to warned by the China National Energy Administration in June this year, it will not be the last. Image | FreePik and Pexels In Xataka | We have known for years that the future of wind power was in the sea and yet only one country has believed it: China

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