Murcia

The water from the Tagus is going to stay in Castilla-La Mancha. So Alicante and Murcia already have a plan B: set up desalination plants

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Water management in the Spanish Levant is not only a question of engineering, but a political and territorial battle that is released in each cubic hectometer. While the reservoirs at the head of the Tagus fluctuate and the rules of the game change in the Madrid officesthe Segura Basin tries to shield its survival through technology. With the Tajo-Segura Transfer in the regulatory spotlightthe Government has been forced to accelerate its “plan B”: converting sea water into the lungs of European agriculture. Green light to the preliminary projects. The Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS) already has on the table the design of the two desalination plants that promise to give a break to the Cuenca Plan. Mario Urrea, at the head of the organization, has signed the contracts to draw up the preliminary projects for works that will cost 1.34 million euros in the technical phase alone. However, the plan has already collided with local political reality. According to local mediathe exact location of the plant planned for the left bank (Torrevieja area) is a point of friction: the Torrevieja City Council and the Generalitat Valenciana have already expressed a “frontal rejection” of the possibility of the new plant being installed in said municipal area. To avoid this premature shock, the CHS refers generically to the “surroundings of the La Pedrera reservoir”, although technically the most viable thing would be to locate it next to the existing plant in Torrevieja, very close to the sea. The puzzle of numbers. The objective is to achieve water guarantee criteria, but the details reveal notable confusion in the scope of the plan. While the Government initially pointed out to a 100 hm3 plant for the Torrevieja area, the current specifications reduce that figure by half, placing it at 50 hm3. However, planning suggests that, adding the capacities of both facilities, up to 150 hm3 per year could be contributed to the system. The surgical distribution of this unconventional resource will be structured as follows: Right Bank Desalination Plant (Águilas): It will produce 50 hm3 annually. Of these, 33.5 hm3 will be used to relieve overexploited underground masses such as Alto Guadalentín and Mazarrón, while 16.5 hm3 will reinforce direct supply in Lorca, Totana and areas of Almería. Left Bank Desalination Plant (Torrevieja): With a projected production of up to 100 hm3 (according to the horizon of the basin plan), it will allocate 58.5 hm3 to alleviate the undersupply of the Cartagena and Alicante Field (Albatera, San Isidro), in addition to dedicating 41.5 hm3 to the recovery of aquifers such as Cabo Roig. A divided plan under the stigma of energy. The project has been divided into two strategic lots with an initial execution period of 12 months for its drafting. The lot on the right bank has been awarded to the company Typsa for 674,575 euros, with the mandate to study its connection with the existing desalination plant in Águilas. For its part, the lot on the left bank has been awarded to Ayesa Engineering for 669,286 euros, with the mission of connecting the infrastructure with the La Pedrera reservoir to distribute water through the post-transfer channels. A critical aspect is sustainability. Both preliminary projects must necessarily include the design of photovoltaic solar plants to reduce the high electrical cost of desalination. However, this point raises skepticism: as the local press remembersthe Government has not yet managed to materialize the solar plant in 2024 for the current Torrevieja desalination plant due to lack of location. The time factor: an insurmountable obstacle. Despite the signing of these contracts, the solution will not be immediate. The Ministry estimates that these desalination plants will take between five and six years to be operational, given that after drafting the preliminary project comes a complex phase of environmental processing, public information and possible expropriations. For irrigators, this calendar is “unaffordable”. They find themselves trapped in a temporal clamp; While climate change and the new transfer rules impose cuts today, the promised alternative will not arrive, in the best of cases, until the beginning of the next decade. Water peace or temporary truce? The commitment to desalination is the central axis of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition’s strategy to close the Segura water gap. However, with the transfer rules about to change and an execution of works that is projected into the next decade, the new desalination plants are born in a climate of technical and political uncertainty. The signature of Mario Urrea puts the paper on the table, but water—and territorial peace—still seem to be far away on the horizon. Image | CHS Segura Xataka | After the rains, the battle between communities begins: the Tagus is full and the Segura basin is already demanding its water

Someone stole 56 million liters of water during the last 18 months in Murcia. It’s just the tip of the iceberg

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A pendulum and a couple of wooden sticks are the only tools that dowsers need to, supposedlydetect the magnetic flows of water currents to find underground water. Actually, a dowser is not much use, but it is the name with which SEPRONA baptized a surveillance cycle to catch the water thieves. One of the last cases It is that of the 50 million liters looted by two businessmen in a period of 18 months. But it is neither an isolated case nor something that shows signs of stopping. Louvres. One of the latest SEPRONA operations have taken place in Puerto Lumbreras, in the Region of Murcia, where agents have opened proceedings against two businessmen as alleged perpetrators of a crime against natural resources and the environment. It is estimated that they carried out well exploitation activities for decades, but to be specific, in the last 18 months alone, 56 million liters of groundwater were allegedly stolen. Those investigated used a clandestine well without a volumetric meter that was hidden in one of the companies and was not water that they used to irrigate their own crops (something that is usually common in this type of activity), but to sell. Pirate hydrological. They were capable of extracting more than 100,000 liters a day, which they sold and distributed through their own tanker trucks. Its use? Intensive livestock pig farms. Sale to other companies. Sale to individuals for filling swimming pools. Fine or “operational cost”? SEPRONA began the investigation after a complaint signed by 128 residents of Zarzalico who detected an illegal pipeline of several kilometers built to supply feedlots, and it is estimated that the two businessmen invoiced about 275,000 euros during the 18 months already mentioned. The curious thing about the matter is that, as we say, it has only been investigated for a year and a half, so the figure could be astronomical if the estimate that the activity was carried out for decades is true. Water theft is not something new, far from it, and in fact there are studies which suggest that, for more than a century, it was a practice that occurred in the Spanish southeast. It makes complete sense if we take into account that the area, with Almería or Murcia, being the “orchard of Europe”, is not exactly in which the most rainfall is recordedbut where it is most needed for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. In fact, this is called “virtual water” that these areas export in tomatoes, lettuce or avocados. This theft of water has been taken as a “survival mechanism”, something necessary to maintain activity during droughts, and there is also studies which point out that the administrative fines received by those who commit the infraction are lower than the economic benefit obtained from the stolen water. Illegal wells in southern Spain in the Andalusia region Devastating. The problem is that the accounts don’t add up where it matters most: in nature. The systematic depletion of aquifers due to illegal well activities has led to the depletion of some of the most important wetlands in our geography. Doñana is the clear examplero, since the national park has been, and is being, drained by hundreds of illegal wells for cultivation. But you don’t have to go far from Puerto Lumbreras to see the effects, and the Mar Menor is another example. Fresh underground water is looted and, sometimes, used to irrigate agricultural fields in which nitrate fertilizers are used that, due to runoff, filter into the soil or end up directly in the sea. This causes the water to have less oxygen than it should, and when it ends up in the lagoon, the fish die from anoxia. Add and continue. Unfortunately, as we say, it is not even a problem new… neither isolated. These last years We have been talking about dozens of people investigated, detained and convicted. The Malaga water company, in fact, has even hired private detectives to monitor employees, suppliers and customers. According to WWFthere are more than 500,000 illegal wells in Spain, the benefits offset the administrative fines and fevers like avocado fever They don’t help at all. Images | Greenpeace, Niriho khoka In Xataka | Andalusia has become a hostile land for the avocado. So an unexpected region is taking over: Galicia

Ouigo already has permission to stand up to Renfe between Murcia and Alicante. And that only means one thing

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There will be two trains between Alicante and Murcia, stopping in Elche, and another additional train for this last link from Elche and Murcia. It is the approval that the CNMC has given to the Ouigo service that will rival Renfe in the east of the country. A service that will be provided on the high-speed line and that, if everything happens as before, will have an immediate effect on prices. The line. The line between Alicante and Murcia is currently operated by Renfe with two services, one high-speed and another Cercanías. Now it will be Ouigo that also provides service on that last line, the one that Renfe operates with Avant trains, those high-speed ones for medium distances. has confirmed it the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) in a statement in which it gives the go-ahead for Ouigo to offer two daily trains in each direction to cover Alicante-Murcia, with an intermediate stop in Elche. In addition, there will be an additional train in both directions each day to cover the Elche-Murcia route. Does not affect. According to the CNMC, the new service proposed by Ouigo does not affect public services. They point out that the conventional network is guaranteed by Renfe, with a service with many more stops and slower. High speed, they say, is also assured because, they point out, Ouigo services “have much fewer frequencies and are more expensive.” Right now, if we take a look at the price of trains Within a few months, we can find Avant or AVLO high-speed trains between Alicante and Murcia between 10 and 15 euros. The AVE trip costs about 25 euros. The current offer is also supported by 10 Avant or AVLO services and two more AVE services in each direction from Monday to Friday. Ouigo’s proposal. Until now, Renfe has been offering this service with an average duration of about 55 minutes. The Ouigo proposal, which is already active, allows you to take the same route for nine euros but saving travelers 10 minutes, covering the section between Alicante and Murcia in 45 minutes. With the very low prices that Renfe currently offers on the line, Ouigo does not have much room for maneuver but hopes to attract passengers who travel without large suitcases (these options can raise the price up to 26 euros, equivalent to the price of the AVE). What is clear is that it is tough competition for the 15 euro Avant services which are only more attractive if you cannot travel at another time. The proposal between Murcia and Alicante It’s clear. The train leaves this first city at 06:35 in the morning and offers a return to Murcia at 21:27. From Alicante to Murcia, the train leaves in the morning at 10:57 and offers a service to Alicante at 19:53. That is, the day will be more useful for those who travel from Murcia to Alicante and return on the same day, since there is only one train available between both cities. With transport doubts. The approval from the CNMC comes after Transport has tried to stop the process or, at least, delay it as much as possible. And the Ministry asked the organization for an economic report on the impact on Renfe’s public services. That is why the CNMC highlights in its statement that they do not observe an impact on it. What is certain is that Renfe now faces new complications in a corridor that is on the rise. They point out in The Economist that the corridor between Madrid and Alicante registered its historical passenger record in the last quarter analyzed, adding 1.29 million travelers between July and September. Now, travel between Madrid and Murcia, after passing through Alicante, has more offers than ever. a trend. Although in this case the room for maneuver is much less, it is expected that the average prices between both cities will decrease slightly. With Ouigo offering trips for nine euros between Murcia and Alicante and, above all, saving 10 minutes of travel in a stretch of less than an hour, there are not many reasons to go for more expensive options. It is a maxim that has followed Ouigo in all the corridors where he has put up a fight against Renfe. For very little, where they compete Ouigo always has the cheapest ticket price and has managed to reduce them drastically in the first months of competition. Although with time It is something that is softening and tending towards stabilitythe first step is always to lower prices. Photo | Eric Salard and Joana Hall In Xataka | Renfe is selling its AVLO for 7 euros in Andalusia: it is the new battlefield in the price war against Ouigo and Iryo

There is a corner of Spain that God has taken a liking to: Alicante, Murcia and Almería

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“In Murcia there has to be a tarp or something, it’s not normal.” It José Montiel said while looking at a map with the rain that is going to fall in Spain in the coming days and the truth is that it is difficult to disagree. In the last few hours, we have had the combination of a trough and a river of humidity that have produced a squall line over the peninsula, leaving in its wake intense winds, considerable rains and many storms. Everywhere, less in the southeast. What happens in Alicante, Murcia and Almería? Strictly speaking, nothing new happens. The southeastern corner of the peninsula has been recording national minimums throughout the modern period. It is enough to look at the stations around Cabo de Gata to discover that the annual accumulations are very low (around 200mm/year) and if we go a little further inland, to Tabernas for example, the figures are only about 50mm higher. Although with enormous irregularity, yes. It is not surprising, therefore, that desertification is devouring that corner of Spain. Nor does the Köppen-Geiger classification indicate that these are the most arid climates in the country (rivaling only some areas of the Canary Islands). But why? There are three fundamental reasons that explain why the southeast of the country receives so little water. The Azores anticyclone: The great Atlantic plug affects a large part of the country, it is true. We must not forget that, according to the latest studies, Spain faces the driest climate in its last 1,200 years and the progressive strengthening of that anticyclone is to blame. However, due to the trajectory of the winds in the northern hemisphere, not all parts of the territory are affected equally. You just have to compare the climate regime of Galicia with that of Murcia. The Betic mountain ranges: Although we sometimes tend to forget it, in the south of Spain there are a series of really high mountain ranges. The highest mountain on the peninsula, in fact, is in the Baetic mountain ranges. These constitute a true orographic wall that intercepts humidity and generates a very long rainfall shadow over the southeastern coast. Come on, the water stays west of the mountains. Evapotranspiration totally uncontrolled: We are talking about an area with very high insolation and very high evapotranspiration. It’s not just that it rains little, it evaporates a lot and that generates a “deserted” terrain that is unable to take advantage of the rains when they arrive. And that, in an area where DANAs are key, is a problem. Everything is getting worse. We might think that all this is normal and yet it is not. We are inserted in a time of changes and IPCC forecasts are gloomy: to the Mediterranean as it is one of the places in the world where the reduction in precipitation is most directly linked to warming. It is estimated a drop of 4% for each degree more in the central and northern Mediterranean. The best example is this same 2025. Despite the historic rains that have occurred this yearthe balance of the southeast will be bad. And, while illegal water trafficking schemes continue to grow, There are initiatives to continue building transfers that they bring to the region the liquid that does not fall from the sky. The problem is that, whether we want to see it or not, we need more far-reaching changes than what we currently seem to be able to assume. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | Long periods of drought are going to become more and more normal. It’s time to get used to them

With more and more foreign population, Murcia has reminded Spain of its great dilemma: integrate or veto

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Spain is (increasingly) a land of immigrants. If the national register is growing and caressed already the 50 million inhabitants is basically for The thrust of the population born abroad, which compensates for the PLANCHAZO OF BUSINESS. As it becomes more diverse and combines different cultural and religious traditions, Spain confronts an urgent challenge: decide what position to adopt before that hodgepodge, increasingly palpable in public spaces. In Jumilla, Murcia, that debate has just turned strongly. Jumilla earrings. Jumilla It is a town in the region of Murcian Altiplano of almost 27,300 inhabitants famous for their Wines and pears. Today, however, it stars holders in the media throughout the country (and some foreigner) for a very different reason: his City Council has approved a measure that will prevent the hundreds of Muslims who reside there (more or less 7.5% From its inhabitants it comes from countries where this belief is majority) to celebrate religious festivities in the municipal sports center, as they have been doing in The last years. “Over -up and incompatible”. To understand it, you have to go back a few weeks ago, when you vox, with A single councilor In the corporation, he presented a proposal “in defense of Spanish identity”. The text can be read in full in The X account of Vox Murcia but basically stated that the Consistory vet the celebration of the Lace -up party or “other commemorations outside our traditions” for being “incompatible with the identity (…) Spanish”. Did he go ahead? The proposal went through the Plenary at the end of the month, with the negotiation of local budgets as a backdrop, and gave rise to a debate during which the PP presented an amendment that was validated with the popular votes, the abstention of Vox and the rejection of the mayor of the PSOE and IU-PODAMOS-AV. What did you raise The amendment? Broadly speaking, “urges the government team to promote cultural activities, campaigns and proposals that defend our identity and protect traditional religious values and manifestations.” Not just that. The text also slides that the Consistory will retouch the regulations that regulates the enjoyment of sports facilities so that they are “exclusively” to events organized by the municipality itself and makes it clear that “in no case” will be used for “cultural, social or religious activities outside the City Council.” Enough for the measure to have generated a considerable stir. “Is the Muslim word?” In view of the great controversy that has been generated and that what happened in Jumilla has echoed even in The pages of The Guardianthe municipal government, in the hands of the PP, has not taken long to calm the spirits. “It does not go from religion or nationality”, He claimed Yesterday his spokesman, Maricarmen Cruz, in statements collected by RTVE. “Where does the Muslim word appear, where the word ban appears?” The Consistory argues that the people have great sports activity and need their pavilions to focus on that use. Who wants to celebrate other types of acts will need to look for another place. “We have not vetoed anything,” emphasize Cross. “Jumilla has more spaces. Who has said to centralize there?” “Land of Christian roots”. The reality is that the amendment approved in full complicates that the near them 1,500 Muslims that live in the town they celebrate the collective prayer of the end of Ramadan and the Lamb party in the City Council sportsman, as they have done during The last four years. “The measure comes from where, from a embarrassing and racist motion of Vox. What has done is bleaching it,” complaint the former mayor and local spokesman of the PSOE. The truth is that Abascal’s formation has not taken long in Remove chest So consider a pioneer measure that “prevents celebrating Islamic parties in public spaces.” “Spain is and will always be a land of Christian roots”, He underlined Yesterday the training in X. The Central Executive He has already warned which will supervise “very closely” the effects of the agreement in search of “hate speeches” and Jumilla’s Muslim population It does not hide His concern: “They have taken away a place to pray and now it is an erzo, but we do not know what else they can take us tomorrow.” Click on the image to go to Tweet. “It’s discrimination”. The debate is interesting enough (and broad) to have reached the Catholic Church. The country It echoes Today of the discomfort of Spanish bishops due to Jumilla’s motion, a text in which no confession is cited but the use of public spaces for religious acts is restricted. “Attentive against the fundamental rights of any human, and does not affect only a religious group, but all religious confessions”, Catholic prelates warn. “Making these restrictions for religious reasons is a discrimination that cannot occur in democratic societies.” Beyond Jumilla. Jumilla’s case comes only a few weeks after Pacheco Torre disturbancesalso in Murcia, which left a wave of violence aimed at the Maghreb population. Both case reflect a reality that transcends the Murcia community and points to one of the great challenges Spain has ahead: with an immigrant population In clear ascent (Among the nationalities that grow the most are the Moroccan and Algerian), the country must decide what position to assume before the new identity and religious manifestations. And that affects both newly arrived immigrants and their children, born in Spain and retain their legacy. In the near horizon, debates appear as what attitude adopt to parties linked to other cultures and the presence of religious symbols in public spaces (Hiyab yes or no) or even in cemeteries. Two models: France and the United Kingdom. Spain has two models close to those to look, that of France and the United Kingdom. The first has opted for example for a Restrictive regulations On the use of the hijab that has led to situations such as the one lived last summer, when Sounkamba Sylla He was about to stay out of the … Read more

Catalonia and Murcia were two of the areas most affected by the drought. Now they are in the center of the storm

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Of the 10 meteorological stations that Yesterday they collected more rainfall Five were in the province of Barcelona. At 11:00 today, the five stations that have collected more rainfall today are in the province of Murcia. A trough in summer. During the last days a trough has traveled the north of the country and the Mediterranean basin, but it has been this last area that has taken the worst part. This event has left large hail images and some overwhelmed channels in the center and north of the Mediterranean slope. The good news is that these areas where the rains now accumulate are some of the most punished by the drought that until a few months ago ravaged the peninsula. A drought whose effects still last in some of these areas. The most affected by drought. The Catalan and Safe internal basins were among the basins most affected by drought. In March last year, the Catalan basins stayed Below 15% of its capacity. After a slight rebound, at the beginning of this year their levels were Something above 30% of its capacity. Since then the Catalan basins have recovered and their reservoirs They are now to 77.6% of its capacity. Something that has not happened in the case of reservoirs in the Segura Basin. These reservoirs came to 19.2% of its capacity And, although they have recovered, they still remain in a modest 28.7%. The passage of a trough. The arrival of the last trough I could help To relieve the situation in areas such as the Safe Basin and to consolidate the stabilization of the basins of the north of the Mediterranean aspect, not only in Catalonia, also in the Júcar. For now the figures left by the trough are only provisional, although in the last Weekly balance of rainfall Made by the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) stand out accumulations greater than 60 mm in Catalonia during the day after day, day 23. The data of the weather stations of the area indicate that yesterday’s was another rainy day. Change of trend? Meteorologists expect the situation to calm down today, but the longest tendency is not so clear. A few days ago it seemed that we were in a brief Impla before the return of heat. Now The models speak of a dough of cold air stagnated on Europe. Change of trend? Summer It is not usually A time of hydrological relief, so rain can become great news for those who look with concern the possibility of a new drought that puts the resistance of the water system again. This is especially true in the basins that have not had the opportunity to recover completely during the last months of hydrological bonanza. In Xataka | The next great drought is a matter of time. It is the one we have to solve the problem of sediments in reservoirs Image | SUPERCHILUM, CC by-SA 4.0

Murcia is convinced that she has a special smell. So he has decided bottling him and turning him into a perfume

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If Seville has a special color, as those of the river sang, Murcia can boast another identity equally striking: its smell. At least he considers his City Council, that He has opted by a fragrance inspired by the aromas of the city, such as orange blossom or myrtle, to use it as an institutional gift. In fact so convinced is the town hall that has dedicated more than 11,000 euros to launch it in the framework of the celebration of the 1,200 years from the town. Of course the perfume has a name: “Fire ritual”. A perfume inspired by Murcia? That’s how it is. At the moment there are not many details that have transcended the Murcian Olfative Initiative, but they allow us to get an idea of ​​what is their approach. The news emerged on Sunday as a result of A tweet Posted by Ginés Ruiz, local spokesman of the PSOE. In him, pulling a sneer, he threw a polish to the local government headed by the popular José Ballesta. “Dear neighbors of Murcia: do not forget that July 7 is the last day to pay the IBI, that the mayor has to pay things like the ‘aromatic mist commemorating the #Murcia12’ to 11,325.60 euros,” Ironizaba Ruiz. The message was accompanied by The photo of a document in which, indeed, a budget item of 11,300 euros is collected for something called “aromatic mist.” Click on the image to go to Tweet. And what is it? Ruiz’s tweet led several media, basically RRNEWS, Murcia’s opinion and Murcia Economyto pull the thread and contact the City Council to learn more about that mysterious “aromatic mist.” Thanks to them we know that their real name is ‘Fire ritual’ and consists neither more nor less than a fragrance with the smell of Murcia “elaborated by Iberchem and that will be presented shortly. What exactly does it mean to smell Murcia? “It smells like the color of the flames”, replyenigmatic, the Consistory. Because? The opinion reveals that the City Council took the first leg of an unsuspected place: its tourism officia. Visitors who come there in search of information often speak the smell of orange blossom, so … why not capture that olfactory essence in a perfume? The idea, insist from the municipal government, is that “a part of Murcia always travels with visitors” and encouraged them to return. “The idea is that this initiative arising from the ‘Murcia 1200’ project lasts and extends as a gift beyond this year, being able to take this aroma everywhere where entities and groups of civil society be named Murcia with their talent,” They clarify. For now, the fragrance will become gift for those who visit Murcia in official acts or during relevant quotes. The important thing: What does it smell like? The City Council advances that it is “a unique fragrance inspired by Murcia and its history”, with “representative” aromas such as orange blossom or myrtle. “It’s a fragrance Niche Inspired by oriental, wood, smoke touches, spicy points … When you smell it, it transports you to that warm fire, with a sweet touch and Ambarado“, They clarify. The idea is that people can spray perfume and use it to set rooms. The name, ‘Fire ritual’, is inspired by one of the large celebrations of the town: the spring parties, and more specifically in its climax, The burning of the catafalco of the sardine. The news has jumped with the fragrance and ready to appear. The person responsible for forming it has been the Iberchem company and in the project a member of the Royal Perfume Academy would have participated. Images | Esteban Palacios Blanco (Flickr) and Laura Chouette (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Vitoria has been the greatest city in Spain for years. Now he has turned against him for a gardener strike

Murcia has filled with moths. There is nothing weird in this invasion

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Temperatures in Spain rise. The State Meteorology Agency has already launched the first notice that We will touch the 40º this final stretch of May. The first half of June is expected to be more dry and warm than usualand with that increase in temperatures, in recent weeks there is something that has proliferated: bugs. The mosquitoes returnbut in some areas of Murcia there is another type of invasion: that of The moths. There is already talk of “plague”, but it is neither a plague nor it is weird that there are more moths in Murcia. Alert! “Matcia moths” is already a trend In networks like Tiktokwhere we talk about an authentic invasion, but there are users from other parts of the country who are reporting an increase in the population of these insects. Many of the videos begin with a “what is happening with the moths.” And the answer is that nothing is happening out of the ordinary. As we read in The truththe neighbors complain that the number increases at night and this is also completely normal. In fact, last year, attention began to be attracted to a moths The first week of June. Usual suspects. Every year at this time, the Spanish Levante, as well as a large part of the Peninsula, report an increase in the presence of these lepidoptera, especially at nightfall. The reason is that they are attracted to artificial lighting, which is why it is easier to see them in cities, but as we say, it is cyclical and that nothing has to do with an invasion or something exotic. The Limero Little There are two suspicious species. On the one hand, the Prays Citrior “Limero moth.” It is a lepidopter that has a clear objective: citrus. It has a size of about 10 millimeters and is a species that experiences population peaks in spring and summer. In some citrus producing regions in Murcia they are seeing these daysand these moths are only one of the insect species that You have to fight so that they do not affect the harvest. And the Gamma Autograph On the other hand, we have the Autographa gammaa larger moth (which can reach 45 millimeters and that is the most stir can be causing these days. It is a night moth that lives in the Iberian Peninsula and in North Africa that, in addition, is migratory. temperature increasepopulations shoot and undertake their way to regions in which they cannot survive in winter, such as northern Europe. Of plague, nothing. Taking advantage of fast air currents, Autographa gamma He undertakes his journey from South to the north on these dates, the opposite occurring in autumn, when they return from the north to the Mediterranean and Africa breeding areas. This means that When the heat beginsThey spend a few days in the Spanish Levante while they travel the area to the north. The Zoonosis Service of the City of Murcia has confirmed the newspaper The opinion that these days have received several calls from neighbors alerting about this fact, but that is nothing out of the ordinary. They also clarify that they are not clothes moths, do not transmit diseases and are not a danger. And from Sanimura Murcian company of pest control, have confirmed our partners of Straight to the palate that “you can have them or not, but it is no plague. It is not true.” Every time … before? This year’s problem is that the cycles of these species seem to have been advanced. It has been A especially rainy springso that increase in humidity and vegetation causes more insects than, with the arrival of higher temperatures, resulting in a population explosion. It does not mean that there are more than usual, but that they have arrived before. José Luis Viejo Montesinos is a professor of Zoology and a member of the Spanish Society of Entomology and comments on ABC That he is surprised that he talks about “plague” and recommends something as simple as “if you find one of these moths, give them a snack if they bother you and nothing more.” Images | Ben comes out, Carlos Delgado, Donald Hobern In Xataka | The United States prepares for the invasion of creatures in an event that nobody had seen since 1803

And suddenly, a great battery and the Sun of Murcia saved me from the great blackout

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After a crisis, a couple of disturbing war conflicts, Trump’s second mandate And a worldwide pandemic, The biggest blackout in Spain I shouldn’t have caused me so much concern. But at home, at three o’clock at the beginning and with the children newcomers of the school, his nervousness was very evident. And ours. No electricity grid for almost 12 hours And disconnected from the world almost the same hours except for the blessed radio to batteries, at home the tranquility for the tense and indefinite wait came to us in the most unexpected way: the radiant sun of Murcia and some test batteries in Xataka. This is the story of how some Solar panels connected to a large battery The great blackout of Spain mitigated at home. The reality that everything works with electricity The entrance/exit door of the work center, which we usually opened through an application installed on the mobile, only paid attention to our need to exit urgently when the concierge, analog key in hand, opened it and threw from it under the almost 30 degrees of two in the afternoon in Murcia. At the end of April. “Googlear” if the suppliers of the service stations need food to work, something that would have taken me 10 seconds at another time, was the beginning of many hours of energy uncertainty whose solution did not remember that I had at home On the way by car home, with the deposit near the reserve and without knowing for sure if the suppliers need food to function – or possibility of Googlear the answer to my doubt – the radio was the only point of connection with the real situation. Because the theories about what was happening did not take 10 seconds to run from Boca by ear and another ear … Suddenly, everyone had spoken with a family member abroad who confirmed without any doubt that it was a European issue. What European, world. An “makeshift” installation of solar panels on the home terrace With the few news that I could hear about what was happening I got home. The atmosphere was very similar to that of pandemic, with uncertainty dominating everything. And the feeling of living too many things for the first time. The noon food had to improvise according to very clear criteria: use the perishable of a refrigerator that we did not know when it would be operational and resort to gas barbecue. Yes, the induction cuisine does not get along with the lack of electricity. Already with the serenity that gives the stomach well attended, as a game to calm the kids, we analyze the situation at home and draw a plan for the afternoon. We are looking for lanterns, laptops, “powerbanks” and any device that could be charged. The smartphones and tablets between them. To do so we had an immense, literally, allied at home: some ecoflow batteries tested in Xataka. Time to recharge everything rechargeable. And cook the “cooking” With the internal load of the batteries, a main of 4,000 mAh and an assistant of the same capacity, almost 80%, the four plugs and four USB ports (two of type C and two of type a) they began to recharge everything that we found at home. Including the batteries that we already know that they must be in every emergency kit that boasts. Without the possibility of loading of any kind, the solar batteries of the house offered a recharge point to family and friends who requested it The objective was that, if the situation was extended until night, we could have operational devices And of course Lights ready so that, at least at home, the situation was the most similar normality. Batteries, camping and reading/leisure lights for the long wait Since it was still the beginning of the afternoon in Murcia, the batteries continued to recharge to the usual rhythm in their “rush hour”, about 1,000-1.200 W per hour. One of the great advantages of these Ecoflow batteries for recharge is that they can be feed both from the electricity and connected directly to solar panels. The radio we were about to “recycle” last summer We take advantage of this situation of energy surplus for both less important issues and relax with a fresh coffee and to use certain thermomix type appliances, the microwave or a small electric oven. Everything we could take advantage of that solar energy seemed to us a good idea at that time. Things of situations that are first lived. Mobile of friends and family who lived near them were recharged with our house battery We also rejoice at home of having stored an old analog radio because, without data or functional telephone, it was our only source of reliable information. The great blackout was not this time through streets. No neighborhoods. Not even in cities. But the most alarming was that the duration of it was a great unknown. So the very few moments of connectivity allowed us Offer our batteries to family and friends They lived close to recharge their mobile phones. And without sun, the batteries take control of the house With the different official information about everything that happened arriving via radio but on droppers, the sunset reached us at home with the unknown about what would take the electricity grid of our Murcia area to be operational. So without a sun, it was time to start squeezing the Energy stored throughout the day until it exhausts her. At night, the solar battery was ready to use the stored energy and feed the refrigerator for hours and thereby save food for a very valuable time The system that we have ecoflow proof does not allow energy injection to the home network itself if it is not connected to the general. But his poOutput tenance of up to 4000 W gives us the possibility to use powerful appliances in a timely manner, as we did with the water tank or microwave. At night, in … Read more

The future of Murcia and Almería is to become great deserts. And that of much of Spain too

by

The droughts arrive and pass by leaving behind greater or lower ravages. Also the drought that chronicly ravages Spain will have more or less intense moments, but perhaps the normality that is behind it is not like the previous one. The reason is the existence of a tendency towards long -term aridity, Aridification of the territory. A good part of the Peninsula is classified based on its aridity index as semi -arid areas, “one step” of this classification as a arid zone, according to the data of the EEENS itself. Where this process is going to advance. It is one of the points that have transcended ““B of the Higher Council for Scientific Research of the CSIC. Where do we come from. Almería, Murcia and the Canary Islands archipelago have traditionally been the areas where Spanish arid areas were concentrated. It is therefore not striking that the two provinces of the southeast peninsular are where the aridification process has had greater impact. At least until now. And it is that a good part of the Peninsula is classified based on its aridity index as semi -arid areas, “one step” of this classification as a arid zone, according to the data of the EENS itself. Potential for desertification. According to The Ministry for Ecological Transitionthe extension of these arid and semi -arid areas, to which the dry subhummedas should be added, delimits the area where the risk of desertification It must be seriously considered. According to the most recent data in the Ministry, areas with high or very high desertification risk, although they are distributed throughout the country, cover a more significant portion of the provinces of the Levant and the Southeast peninsular (In addition to the Canary Islands). The “very high” risk areas are particularly notable in provinces such as Almería, Murcia, Alicante, Granada and even Cuenca, and slightly less noticeable in some of the border provinces. Risk of desertification in Spain. Ministry for ecological transition and demographic challenge. A long -term trend. There are numerous factors that help explain why we are facing this situation. The first is the lack of rains. Beyond the current drought, the last decades have been relatively dry in Spain. Climate change is expected to aggravate this, with less rainfall on average, but more concentrated. Precedents. 2023 and 2024 were not only anomally dry: also especially warm. The increase in temperatures implies an increase in the evaporation of the water that comes to us, both from rivers and swamps and from the same soil: in spring this year the moisture of the soil was of about 0% In most of the Peninsula. Finally, water use should be mentioned. Population growth, tourism and an agriculture increasingly dependent on irrigation bring each time More pressure on reservoirs and aquifers. The latter In a limit situation. No solution to sight The combination of all these factors makes the solution difficult. Spain has a vast network of desalination plant, but the energy and ecological limitations they present prevent (at least for now) a use at sufficient scale. An example of this is the situation in Catalonia, where drought has not been able to be stopped with desalists working 100% of their abilities. Greater efficiency in water use could help complement these new sources, but here the limitations are also important: approximately three quarters of the water consumed in Spain are used by the agriculture and livestock sector according to Aquae data. The precarious situation of the sector and the recent protests do not invite to think that there is a margin of action on this front. In Xataka |The droughts are going to more. So some companies are trying to create water from the air In Xataka | Get drinking water with the brute force of the waves: the ambitious plan of the Canary Islands to face the drought Image | Andrea Imre *An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024

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