Mediterranean

Spain turns in the opposite direction to the rest of Europe. Form part of a geological plan: closing the Mediterranean

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Spain and Portugal are dancing to a different rhythm than the rest of Europe. They are moving clockwise and the consequence is clear: a long-term closure of the Mediterranean that connects the Iberian Peninsula directly to North Africa. The convergence between continents is slow, a few millimeters a year (so we will continue needing the tunnel between Spain and Morocco), but one thing is clear: another Pangea is on the way. And the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco will be a unit. In short. Continental plates move. Some separate, others collide, and that continental drift has caused the emergence the Pangea Ultima theory. In 250 million years, there will only be one continent. There is a long way to go for that, but now, some researchers from the University of the Basque Country have analyzed geodetic data that allows them to affirm that the Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwise. This east-west rotation is driven by the convergence between the Eurasian and African plates, and the conclusion is clear: both are moving between four and six millimeters closer each year. This information is not new, but the researchers’ discovery is to specify the processes that take place at the diffuse boundary of the two western Mediterranean plates. Thanks, Gibraltar. Although the boundaries of other plates are well defined, this does not occur in the Western Mediterranean. There, the processes are much grayer, and there is something called “Gibraltar Arch” which plays an interesting role in this tectonic dynamic. To the east of the strait, the crust absorbs the deformation caused by the collision between the Eurasian and African plates. This ‘Gibraltar Arc’ acts as a buffer, but it has a consequence: in the west of the strait there is a direct collision between the plates, while in the east it is absorbed by the Gibraltar Arc. This lack of buffering from the southwest is what causes the clockwise rotation. Rotational strain rate field. Positive values ​​correspond to clockwise rotation, while negative values ​​refer to counterclockwise rotation. Active and potentially active faults are marked with solid and dashed gray lines, respectively. Double analysis. The researchers combined two types of accuracy analyzes to obtain these results. On the one hand, those of satellite deformation through GNSS system (Global Navigation Satellite System). Analyzing the data, they measured surface displacements with millimeter precision, relying on both permanent and occasional GPS markers. On the other hand, they also analyzed information from recent earthquakes that allowed them to determine the tectonic “stresses” in the area. They are independent data sets, but by crossing them they were able to draw a series of ‘lines’ that have allowed them to better specify the boundary between the plates. So that? Well, to better understand which sectors are in direct collision between plates and which are still more protected by the Gibraltar Arc. And the neighbors? The problem is that, although they claim that it is a rapid tectonic movement, this is true in geological terms. For us it is invaluable, but it also comes into play that we only have satellite data since 1999 and detailed seismic data since the 1980s. Even so, if with such a short range of data we have reached that conclusion in the annual approach, it is because the phenomenon is not in a hurry, but it does not pause either. And the most interesting thing is that this only affects the Iberian Peninsula. It is not that we are going to separate from France, since we ‘drag’ the rest of the continent thanks to the effect of the Gibraltar Arc, but we are not turning in the same direction as other neighbors. Italy, for example, experiences a counterclockwise rotation that exerts pressure in the alpine zoneand in the anatolian plate (where most of Türkiye is), there is also this counterclockwise rotation. Hello, Morocco. While in Turkey the consequence may be more earthquakes or mountain formations, this current speed of between 4 and 6 millimeters will cause, at some point, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco to unite. This continental collision would close the Mediterraneanbut there is a lot left for it. How much? About 100 million years. They estimate that for 20 million years we will continue at the same speed, but within about 50 million years, things will gain momentum, accelerating the process and turning the region into one of the most active volcanic and seismic areas on the planet. It’s… foolish to worry. present utility. Now, beyond curiosity, the most immediate implication that the researchers point out is a better identification of active faults or areas in which previously unidentified tectonic structures could exist. Asier Madarieta-Txurruka, one of those responsible for the investigation, explains This information indicates where to look for these structures and boundaries to determine what type of folds and faults there may be. Thus, we can anticipate the type of earthquake that there will be and its magnitude in areas such as the Western Pyrenees or the region of Cádiz and Seville in which we know that there are numerous places with significant deformationbut we do not have well identified the active tectonic structures that cause them. And, although there is still a long way to go before the Alps and a new mountain range are founded across the peninsula and all of North Africa to Arabia, knowing better what we have right under our feet is much more useful. In Xataka | We knew that Africa was going to split in half. What we didn’t know was that it would happen so quickly.

The loggerhead turtle is increasingly common on the Spanish coasts. It is a bad sign about the Mediterranean

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The Mediterranean is being invaded. The ‘fried egg’ jellyfish or the imposing lionfish They are two undesirable new tenants, but there is one animal that is much less annoying, It is not invasive and yet it is a problem that it is colonizing the western Mediterranean. This is the loggerhead sea turtle. And it is another adaptive response to climate change. The loggerhead turtle. Its scientific name is Caretta caretta and is one of only two species of sea turtle (the other is the Chelonia mydasor green turtle) that reproduces in the Mediterranean beaches. If you look at the map, its distribution is worldwide. They enjoy warm waters with a wide range of surface temperatures (a range between 13 and 28 degrees Celsius), but things change during the spawning season. Nesting females prefer temperatures between 27 and 28 degrees, making Mediterranean beaches an ideal area to lay eggs. The traditional spawning grounds in the Mediterranean were the eastern area, especially the Greek beaches, but something is happening: an increase in temperatures is creating a double imbalance. A determining factor. It is curious, but temperature controls both the willingness of turtles to nest in an area and, and this is almost the most important, the sixth of their hatchlings. The sexual determination of chelonians depends on the incubation temperature in the eggs buried in the sand. With this strict fan of 27-28 degrees, a balanced population between males and females is achieved. With higher temperatures, there is a imbalance towards the predominant birth of females. This is a problem for the turtle population itself, since an imbalance of this type would put the species at risk. And even more curious is that mature females have instinctively found a biological refuge on the coasts of the western Mediterranean, where the beaches are somewhat colder (for the moment). The objective is to ensure greater sexual diversity. Increase in nesting. HE esteem that, in the Mediterranean basin, there are about 8,000 eggs per year. The traditional places are Greece, Türkiye, Libya, Tunisia and Cyprus, but little by little we are seeing that change in the balance. In 2001 found a first nest on a beach in Almería, in Vera, and since then loggerhead turtle nests have been recorded in other parts of the geography of the western Mediterranean. The turtles They are spawning in Spainbut also in Italy, Malta and Tunisia. In addition to the Almeria coast, the areas in which the turtles are creating nests are Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Murcia and they have been observed in Fuengirola and Marbella. Conservation and awareness. There are organizations that, increasingly, point out that nesting has been increasing in recent years, and regardless of what it means at a climatic level, it is another problem due to the human factor. In countries “accustomed” to this, where nests are protected, the population knows not to interfere with them. In others where turtles are beginning to nest, it is possible that we, maliciously or unintentionally, interfere with the reproductive cycles of a species that is considered under threat. That is why it is also they throw citizen awareness campaigns to inform about them and how to proceed if someone finds a nest that is not already being monitored. For example, performing events in schools on biology and conservation of the species. It is also perform awareness work with fishermen as a target audience, since fishing activities are one of the main causes of death. Likewise, when a clutch is detected, there is the possibility of protecting the nest in situ (where the turtles have to hatch correctly and take the infernal path to the sea) or take the eggs to controlled breeding centerswhere they mature and are subsequently released. Turtle nursery in Fuerteventura Poison beyond the heat. But there is another problem apart from climate change and human action: the pollutants that are poisoning the turtles. In recent years there has been studied the liver of at least a dozen loggerhead turtles, finding traces of PCB, PCDF and PCDD. These are chemicals, pesticides that alter the immune and hormonal systems of turtles. It is something that comes from the hand of the esurface runoff carrying chemical waste from agriculture and industry to the rivers that subsequently flow into the sea. And torture, unfortunately, is becoming a thermometer of the state of our waters, both in terms of temperature and the presence of chemicals that are already altering the fauna. Images | H. Zell, Dionysisa303 In Xataka | The owner of Loro Parque in the Canary Islands charges against animal rights activists. And with this it reopens the debate on the existence of zoos

The last 15 years confirm that the Mediterranean is becoming radicalized

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This weekend the map of the southeast of the peninsula has turned red again. The maximum alerts issued by the AEMET in the Valencian Community and in Almería it has returned us to a reality that seems to repeat itself with a disturbing cadence. And this is precisely the question we can ask ourselves in this case: are these events of a more usual way? In a short way. What the data tells us From the last 15 years of analysis, it is yes. The long answer is more complex and involves a Mediterranean that works like gasoline increasingly volatile for these phenomena. What the data says. If we look back, the perception that ‘it used to rain, but not like this’ has very important scientific support. The analyzes carried out by the AEMET on extreme rainfall between 1965 and 2020 show a fairly clear pattern: storms with torrential rains are not only more frequent, but are more extensive and violent in the 21st century. The turning point seems to be in the last decade. The 2010-2020 period concentrates an anomalous number of extreme events, with the storm glory in 2020, setting previous records that the DANA of 2024 has pulverized. Furthermore, recent publications in EarthArXiv and compilations of Copernicus confirm this trend: the Spanish western Mediterranean is suffering an intensification of convective episodes. It is not a cycle. It is something that may come to mind, thinking that this is a streak that may be cyclical and that in the future the frequency may be decreasing. But the reconstructions dendrochronological based on tree rings they indicate that the intensity of the Levant events is outside the natural variability observed in previous centuries. The engine of disaster. To understand why we have more violent storms now, we have to go back to basic thermodynamics, since the Mediterranean is registering unprecedented surface temperatures. This made, for example, the Valencia DANA of 2024 to be between 12 and 15% more intense than this anthropogenic climate change. The equation used by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is relentless: For every degree the atmosphere warms, it can retain 7% more humidity. Something that directly affects meteorological events. The example. When a DANA that It’s literally a layer of cold air. At altitude it encounters an unusually warm Mediterranean, the result is a massive injection of water vapor. This is what Millán, historic director of CEAM, had been warning for years: we have turned our maritime basin into a pressure cooker. In this way, warming not only provides more water to precipitate, but also intensifies the force with which it does so and therefore greater destruction. The future. What is worrying is not only what has happened, but what the models say is going to happen. The projections cited by experts indicate an increase in up to 61% in extreme rains in the Mediterranean region under high emissions scenarios. Reports from the University of Zaragoza and AEMET indicate that, although the total number of rainy days could decrease in the future, the days that it rains will do so torrentially. Specifically, for the coasts of Valencia and Alicante, they are projected increases greater than 20% in intensity of extreme precipitation. This forces us to prepare containment plans that have us prepared for possible natural disasters. Images | Jason Sung In Xataka | Something strange has happened in the stratospheric polar vortex. And it is a hint of the winter that awaits Spain

Mediterranean countries seemed ideal for solar panels. Until the dust storms arrived

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The Mediterranean has always been seen as a privileged land for solar energy: abundant sun, large extensions and A clear commitment to renewables. However, two factors that come from the south and of the climate change are putting this equation in check: the dust storms of the Sahara and the sustained increase in temperatures. The short. A new study warns that Sahara dust can reduce solar production in southern Europe by up to 50 %. Work, Posted in Renewable Energy magazine By the Hun-Ren Research Center of Astronomy and Earth Sciences of Hungary, analyzes the episodes between 2019 and 2023 in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece. More in depth. To reach these conclusions, the scientists resorted to a data arsenal: the forecasts of the European Network of Transport Systems Operators (ETSO-E), NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis, the European database Copernicus Cams V4.6 and satellite cloud and aerosols. Thus they were able to evaluate time and daily how dust alters solar irradiance and, therefore, the ability of panels to produce electricity. The additional finding is worrying: the current photovoltaic forecasts for the next day usually fail. In Spain and Portugal they tend to underestimate the real loss of energy (up to 15% less than expected), while in Italy and Greece the opposite occurs, with overestimations of up to 10%. A problem that aggravates. Saharan dust is not a new phenomenon, but climate change is intensifying both its frequency and its reach. And Spain, as a study of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) warns collected in Xatakait is a true “hot point” of European warming. In the last 50 years, temperatures have increased 3.27ºC in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, more than double the Mediterranean mean. Summer has extended 36 days, rainfall has decreased almost 20% and desertification advances by regions such as Murcia, Almería or Alicante. The scenario for 2050 is a country with steppe or even almost desert climate in much of its territory. If Spain becomes a warmer and more dry desert, dust storms will be more frequent and its impact on even greater solar energy. Is there a possible solution? Until now, the great enemy of conventional solar panels was not only dust, but also heat. As we have developed in Xatakafor each degree above 25ºC, traditional plaques lose between 0.05% and 0.34% efficiency, which can translate into falls from 10 to 25% in very hot days. But a recent study by Laughborough University proposes a script turn: The so -called photoelectocrochemical flow cells (PEC). This experimental technology not only supports heat, but takes advantage of it, with an optimal point around 45ºC. In addition, it does not require active cooling, which lowers installation and maintenance costs. In parallel, startups like the Australian Coolsheet They are developing Passive cooling hybrid systems that cool the panels and, at the same time, heat water for industrial or domestic use. Every 10º less on the plate can be 4% more electrical efficiency. Beyond the results. The research is not limited to more solar panels, but that It must be integrated In the new photovoltaic, more forecast of dust effects, improve real -time monitoring and design technologies that convert heat and extreme conditions into allies, not enemies. Spain and the Mediterranean advance towards a scenario in which the sun will be more abundant, but also more hostile. The future of solar energy is to accept this paradox: it is not just about installing panels, but of adapting them to a changing climate, full of dust, heat and drought. Scientific research, technological innovation and political planning must go hand in hand so that the sun remains the solution, and does not become part of the problem. Image | Eduardo Milla and Unspash Xataka | We believed that the Sahara was going to “eat” Almería and Murcia in the future. Some researchers believe that it will reach Mallorca

The rains in the Mediterranean have arrived at a very delicate time for the reservoirs of the region

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The Mediterranean basin is living a new episode of heavy rains. The extreme of the episode led yesterday to the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) to Issue several red notices For extreme risk, while numerous yellow and oranges notices remain in force today. Despite the obvious risk that this is, there is the circumstance that rainfall arrives at a delicate time for one of the hydrographic basins of the region. The arrival of the rains. The Mediterranean basin rains They monopolize the looks of meteorologists. Aemet today maintains several notices associated with storms and rainfall in much of the eastern coast, notices that also cover interior provinces. Notices that, during the morning they will still remain in the Balearic Islands. A delicate moment in the safe. After several years of drought, almost a year of high rainfall between autumn of 2024 and Spring of 2025 served to allow most of the country’s hydrographic basins to recover water. Many even saw unprecedented filling levels in years. This It wasn’t exactly The case of the Segura Basin. The state of The reservoirs of this basin From southeast peninsular improved with respect to 2024, but did not reach the filling level of 2023 or its average of the last 10 years. Such is the situation, that a few days ago, the Segura Hydrographic Confederation He pointed out that the scarcity index index had crossed the threshold of the pre -alder and was approaching the border of the alert situation. A dry August. Except in some specific areas, August has been A dry month on the peninsula (Not so much in the island communities), even by this point of the year. Precipitation in peninsular Spain were around 34% lower than those that could be expected for a month of August, and that has been noted in the water reserve. The Spanish reservoirs went from being, on average, 67% of its capacity At the end of July to be at 59.3% At the beginning of September. Of course, summer is a time when Reserve descent Water is expected, but weather has not helped stop this trend. In the case of the Safe Basin, the Last data availablethose of last week, indicate that the reservoirs of this environment are found at 22.5% of its capacity, making it the dry basin in the country. It is also at a distance from the next, that of Guadalete-Barbate, which was last week to 44.5% of its capacity. We will have to wait. One of the areas where orange notices have been issued for important risk is precisely that of the Vega del Segura, in Murcia, where they are expected 30 mm accumulated in an hour. Other areas of this basin have also seen yellow or orange warnings are activated during yesterday and today. In Xataka | A Norway reservoir began to release millions of liters of water without anyone ordering it. Months later, we already know why Image | SUPERCHILUM, CC by-SA 4.0 / ECMWF

An Atlantic trough looks out to the Mediterranean coast

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Autumn has arrived and does it hard. So much so that the Mediterranean coast begins to prepare for an intense episode of rainfall. The culprit (at least in part) is a Atlantic trough that travels the peninsula. Extreme risk.This situation has led to the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) to Issue several noticesincluding numerous orange warnings due to important risk and two red notices due to extreme risk. The latter affect a good part of the province of Tarragona, specifically in the southern prelitral and in the southern coast of the Catalan province. Accumulated rainfall is expected to reach 90 mm in an hour. The red notices will take effect at 15:00 and end at 9:00 p.m., but it must be taken into account that orange notices will last in this area throughout today, as well as during part of tomorrow. Beyond Tarragona. Aemet yellow and orange notices extend by almost the entire Levante, also covering interior areas, such as the areas of Gúdar and the teacher; Hellín and Almansa; or the safe basin, among others. Yellow and orange notices not only alert the risk derived from rains but also storm risk. As of tomorrow, orange notices will also reach the Balearic Islands. What is happening? The agency itself Explain in an informative note that the origin of this event is in an Atlantic trough that Since yesterday we travel our territory. This trough, they explain will originate “a growing instability in the Mediterranean area” during the first days of this week. However, extreme rains will be the result of the interaction between this trough and “the formation of a bosom of low pressures between the southeast Peninsular and Balearic Islands.” This new formation, continues to explain Aemet, will cause a “wet flow of the east” that will spread through the Mediterranean area. “The presence of high humidity at low levels together with thermal and dynamic instability, will propitiate the formation of showers and intense storms, in areas of the Eastern Peninsular and Balearic Islands,” concludes the agency in its informative note. Uncertainty. There is a remarkable uncertainty about the future of this extreme phenomenon, although the models indicate that the situation will come between today and tomorrow, improving from Wednesday. It should be remembered that the notices derived from the situation will still affect the Balearic Islands, so it is convenient to be aware of the evolution of the trough. In Xataka | Google has demonstrated with its AI that the prediction of storms and hurricanes is outdated. This is how your new model works Image | ECMWF / Aemet

It seemed a measurement error, but the neutrino who crossed the Mediterranean in 2023 was real. And nobody knows where it came from

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At the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, at 3,500 meters under the surface, a high -tech sensor was crossed by a subatomic particle with a demential energy. For months, scientists thought it was a measurement error. The detector, still evidence, must be badly calibrated. But now they know what really happened. February 13, 2023. The KM3net European Network, which had barely installed 10% of its Arca submarine telescopes, He detected a flash. In the middle of the night (for more signs, at 1:16:47 UTC), more than a third of the 21 sensors located 80 km from the coast of Sicily illuminated. It was not a subtle flash, they recorded more than 28,000 photons. The event, baptized as KM3-230213A, corresponded to a muon that had crossed the detector almost horizontal with an energy of 220 Petaelectronvolts. That is 100 million times the energy of the visible light photons. A flash 30 times more energetic than the largest neutrino detected to date, far exceeding energies that are reached in the large Hadron collider of the CERN. It was impossible. Or not? A little context. To understand the magnitude of this discovery, you must first talk about neutrinos. Nickname “Ghost particles” For a good reason, they have no electric charge, their mass is almost nil, and they barely interact with matter. Right now, billions of neutrinos from the sun and other corners of the universe They are going through our own body Without we notice it. This elusive nature makes them the perfect cosmic messengers. TO Difference of cosmic rays (which are charged particles), neutrinos are not diverted by magnetic fields. They travel straight from their point of origin, bringing pure information about The most violent and energy events of the Universe: Supermasive black holes, supernova explosions or gamma rays bursts. The true ghostbusters. The challenge with the neutrinos is to catch them, and here the km3net (Kilometre Cube Neutrino Telescope), an observatory of titanic proportions still under construction under the Mediterranean. It is not a traditional telescope, but a gigantic underwater infrastructure that uses the sea itself as a detector. It consists of a network of vertical lines anchored to the seabed, equipped with thousands of hypersensitive eyes: digital optical modules. Quite occasionally, a neutrino clashes with a water molecule, producing other particles, such as the muon, that travels faster than the light in the water. This phenomenon generates a blila light flash known as Cherenkov radiation. KM3net sensors capture this brightness and, analyzing the time and intensity of light, scientists can reconstruct the direction and energy of the original neutrino. A record neutrino. After a year of meticulous analysis, KM3net confirmed what seemed impossible: the detection of the most energetic neutrino ever observed. A muon with a 220 PEV demential energy crossed the detector as a cannon bullet on February 13, 2023. His almost horizontal trajectory was key to rule out that it was “background noise”, such as atmospheric muons, which are produced by the Cosmic rays interaction With the Earth’s atmosphere. Such a particle could not have crossed hundreds of kilometers of rock and water to reach the detector from above. The only plausible explanation is that an even greater energy neutrino came from the cosmos, interacted near the detector and generated the muon that the sensors saw pass. The finding, published in the prestigious Nature Magazinebrings us closer to one of the most extreme events documented. The problem: nobody knows where the hell came. In search of the source. Seen in perspective, detecting the particle was the easy part. Now comes the complicated: find out its origin. The scientists pointed their antennas in the direction of the neutrino and scanned the skies in search of some cataclysmic event that could have generated it. They checked gamma ray catalogs, X -rays and radio waves in search of blázares (galaxies with supermassive black holes that throw jets of matter towards us) or any other transitory phenomenon. The result: they did not find a clear source. Although the direction points to a region of the sky with several candidates, none of the known blízares in the area fits perfectly. According to the Project researchersIt is probably an extragalactic source, but its position close to the plane of the Milky Way does not completely rule out our own galaxy. Make your bets. With Spanish participation through the University of Granada and the Valencia IFIC, the data analysis puts on the table two main hypotheses. On the one hand, an unknown cosmic accelerator, such as an active galactic nucleus or an burst of gamma rays that astronomers have not yet identified. On the other, the most exotic and exciting possibility: a cosmogenic neutrino. The flash could be the result of the interaction of a cosmic ray of ultra-high energy (particles that travel through the universe with even more extreme energies) with a photon of the cosmic microwave background, the echo of the Big Bang. It would be the first detection of such a neutrino. In Xataka | The Canary Islands will play a central role in the Cherenkov telescope network. And just took a fundamental step

The Mediterranean is a pressure pot

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Water temperature is not just a bathing thing. The Mediterranean Sea is again much hotter than would correspond, even at this point of the year; And that is a problem. The ecological balance of the species that inhabit it depends on the waters of this sea: its waters also perform Again, red live. After some weeks of thermal reliefMediterranean surface waters reach thermal anomalies similar to those we saw in the middle of June. As on that occasion, our coasts are in the eye of the hurricane: two Spanish buoys measured these days temperatures Above 30º CESLIUS. The extreme measurements of these buoys seem not to be something punctual. According to the data based on satellite observations Published by the coastal observation and prediction system of the Balearic Islands (Socib), the average temperature is this surface sea is 27.05º. This implies that the sea is 1.36º above what would correspond on these dates. As happened in June, the Western Mediterranean is the “engine” of this change. In this region of the sea, the average temperature is 26.66º, which represents a thermal anomaly of 1.76º. The anomaly is again so high that we find ourselves, as also happened in July, above the 90th percentile in the historical measurement. Hot points. In our environment, there are two “hot points”, areas where thermal anomaly is even greater. The northwestern Mediterranean is one of these points: With an average temperature of 26.77º, this environment is located 2.79º above average and also above the 90th of observations. The second hot point is the sea of Alborán. The temperature in this basin is 25.67º. This temperature is 2.17 above the average and, again, also above the 90th percentile of the historical observations. On land and sea.The evolution of the surface temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea corresponds, to a certain degree, to what we are seeing in the atmosphere: an extremely warm June fired the temperatures also in the water, before the thermal relief of Julio relax the situation without reversing it. Now, a new heat wave is weating more than the air, and maritime temperature seems to be responding in chord. A risk to all. But the relationship between atmospheric conditions and maritime temperature is more complex. And it occurs in both directions, that is, the sea temperature also affects what happens in the clouds. In this sense, a warm Mediterranean implies a severe risk. This heat implies the concentration of thermal energy in the sea, a thermal energy capable of generating convective currents in certain circumstances. These waters also transfer moisture to the atmosphere, a humidity that, with the arrival of storms can be downloaded in the form of intense rainfall as has happened in recent months. Ecological balance Of course, change in temperatures can also affect maritime life. The seas of our environment “tropically”, which means that they are not only warmer, but also more welcoming with respect to the fauna and flora that traditionally inhabits the tropics. And less cozy for local fauna and flora, which must deal with not only with excessive heat, but also with the arrival of new predators to the waters that inhabit. In Xataka | The maps that explain why Castilla y León have become the “zero zone” of forest fires Image | Henning Schröder / ECMWF

After weeks of concern, the Mediterranean is very close to normal. The heat wave threatens to throw everything into the fret

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Something has changed sharply in the Mediterranean Sea: its temperature. If a few weeks ago the sea that unites Europe, Africa and Asia burning, now the surface temperature of the sea has plummeted to almost normal values, only slightly above what we could expect during these summer dates A few tenth. The latest data on the surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea have given us good news in the form of stabilization. According to the data Of the coastal observation and prediction system of the Balearic Islands (Socib), as of August 7, the Mediterranean surface is, on average, at 26.03º Celsius. This implies an anomaly was 0.54º Celsius, that is, the sea is more than half a hot than what would correspond at this time. As a contrast, in the middle of June We reported that this anomaly was 2.26º. East to the west. The sea temperature has decreased on average, but has also changed in its distribution. A few weeks ago the focus of the heat was in the Western Mediterranean, while to the east the temperatures were warm but more moderate. Now it happens just the other way around. According to the Socib datathe average west temperature of the Mediterranean is 25.01º, which implies a thermal anomaly of 0.29º. Meanwhile, the eastern side is at 27.06º, 0.81º more than what would be normal in that area and on these dates. A very diverse sea. The data allow us to analyze the change in different regions and, perhaps the area where this change is most palpable, the Northwest Mediterranean. Here, at the beginning of July the thermal anomaly was around four degrees. Now is the most “normal” area of the sea, with a positive anomaly of only 0.17º. Another of the spotlights a few weeks ago was in the surroundings of the Balearic Islands, especially in the waters of the National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago. In these areas, thermal anomaly on June 12 was 3rd and 3.18º respectively. Now, the environment of the Balearic archipelago is only 0.36º above the average, while the waters of the Cabrera archipelago have an anomaly of 0.35º. What happened? June was an extremely warm month in Spain, but it was also hotter than normal in other areas. The absence of section of section and high insolation made the Mediterranean a boiling pot, but the month of July was different. The arrival of a time less torrid in a month of July in which the storms took the prominence in the Mediterranean basin changed this. “Thanks to the dynamics of atmospheric circulation in recent weeks, with the passage of different troughs, the surface waters of the Mediterranean already draw a panorama with a more normal spatial variability,” explained on social networks The physicist, disseminator and researcher at Aemet JJ German. Without throwing the bells on the flight. The descent of temperatures is great news: a Mediterranean too warm increases the risk of storms and copious rainfall like the ones we see in Danas and in episodes of “cold drop”. The question now is to know if this stabilization will be lasting or if we will see a new thermal rebound in marine waters. August has started with a heat wave in Spain with reach beyond the peninsula. June’s thermal rest has ended and we do not know how this change to the waters of the Mediterranean will affect. The issue is relevant due to the environmental and meteorological problems that this overheating would imply. In Xataka | “The Mediterranean already has only three stations”: the European Observatory of the drought confirms that winter is dying Image | Valentin Perret / ECMWF

A trough "anomally intense" and a Mediterranean to red live: the explosive cocktail that arrives in Catalonia and Valencia

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This week time offers us a breathing of the scorching heat we have had to face during the first half of the summer, but this truce brings, again, an important risk of storms. In the center of this new stormy episode is, once again, the Mediterranean coast. Storms come back. The arrival of a new trough has put on alert To many meteorologists. The reason is in the possibility that its arrival unravels important storms in the Mediterranean basin, storms that could bring with them the arrival of hail and risk of flooding in some areas where it is expected to fall 30 mm in a matter of one hour. The polar jet and a very hot Mediterranean. The main cause of the storms would be the arrival of the trough driven by a polar jet especially wavy during these days. These undulations would bring with them a mass of cold air in height, which when reaching the Mediterranean basin will interact with the warm air of the region, facilitating the appearance of convective clouds, according to Experts explain. The worrying thing about the situation lies in the combination of two circumstances. On the one hand, we find a trough that was recently described as “anomalously intense for the time”, In words of the physicist, disseminator and researcher at Aemet JJ German. On the other, a Western Mediterranean Sea at a much higher temperature than is usually common. In Xataka “Clouds of fire”, the phenomenon that makes escape from sixth generation fires can make it impossible As of Wednesday. The resulting storms are expected to be especially intense in Wednesday’s days and during the early hours of Thursday. The forecasts talk about rainfall between 30 and 40 mm In an hour, but the possibility of even more intense rains is not ruled out, which implies the possibility of floods in areas such as ravines and ramblas. Important risk. The State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) has issued A series of notices related to these episodes that will be added to the notices that have been common, associated with the maximum summer temperatures. For now, orange notices for important risk are concentrated on the day of Wednesday 23, although we will have to wait for Know the evolution of the situation during Thursday. On Wednesday, almost all of Catalonia will be under notice for rains and storms. It will also be the Aragonese and Navarro Pyrenees, and other areas of Aragon and the province of Castellón. Orange notices, due to important risk, will also affect part of the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona and Castellón. To this we will have to add the risk of Rissagas on the island of Menorca. {“Videid”: “X89B35L”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Professional Cazatorentas_ This is your day to day”, “Tag”: “”, “Duration”: “400”} Change in the trend? The situation seems to be improving on Friday, but even during the day They might be expected instability in some areas. The models indicate that after the storm, during the weekend, stability will arrive and with it could return the high temperatures. However, we will still have to wait to know in detail the evolution of the atmospheric situation. In Xataka | The hydrological bonanza could not be eternal: drought is a real threat after an extremely warm, and also dry June Image | ECMWF (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news A “anomalously intense” trough and a Mediterranean to red alive: the explosive cocktail that arrives in Catalonia and Valencia It was originally posted in Xataka by Pablo Martínez-Juarez .

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