Ourense

Europe needs tungsten for its electrical future. A Swedish mining company knows where to find it: Ourense

by

In the parish of Pentes, in the Ourense municipality of A Gudiña, the excavators have already begun to remove earth. There, on a slope where until recently only the mountain wind could be heard, the Swedish mining company Eurobattery Minerals AB has launched the work to extract tungsten – also known as tungsten –, a strategic metal for the European energy and technological transition. Galicia thus joins the small group of regions on the continent with active exploitation of this critical mineral. A strategic mine for Europe. The company, through its Galician subsidiary Tungsten San Juan, has launched its San Juan project while preparing its application for the second call for Strategic Projects under the European Regulation of Critical Raw Materials (CRMA), to open in January 2026. The first earthworks and the construction of a service warehouse are already visible in the area, as confirmed by the Vigo Lighthouse. When it is at full capacity, this will be the second active exploitation of tungsten in Spain, along with that of Barruecopardoin Salamanca. More in depth. The San Juan project will be an open pit mine with a goal that goes beyond local production: to provide European tungsten to the continent’s new industrial ecosystem. The company has begun improving infrastructure and constructing a pilot plant with gravimetric technology, while estimating reserves of 60,000 tons of ore with a grade of 1.3% WO₃. These are modest figures on a global scale, but significant for a Europe that seeks to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports of this critical metal. It has not been a short road. The procedures began in 2016 with geological studies, surveys and the construction of accesses, all under the supervision of the Xunta de Galicia. “Our goal is to produce tungsten responsibly and efficiently within Europe,” explains Agne Ahleniusgeneral director of Tungsten San Juan and former head of the Barruecopardo mine. “With this project, Galicia and Spain reinforce their role in the European supply chain of critical raw materials.” The metal that supports the energy transition. Few materials concentrate as much strategic value as tungsten. Its density, its resistance and its very high melting point make it a key resource for modern industry: from wind turbines to defense, including semiconductors and electric cars. But behind its technical brilliance there is a global conflict. China controls more than 80% of production and, in recent months, it has further limited its exports. The result: skyrocketing prices, uncertainty in the markets and a new reminder of how dependent Europe continues to be. To break this cycle, Brussels has launched the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a plan to guarantee access to critical minerals within European territory. According to the European Commissionthese initiatives not only seek economic stability: they also aim to reinforce the industrial autonomy of the continent and reduce its vulnerability to geopolitical tensions. Spain, a mining window. The start of the San Juan project is not an isolated event. It is part of a larger movement: the rediscovery of Spain’s mining potential. The country has projects of copper, tungsten, vanadium, graphite and cobalt, in addition to new deposits of rare earths in Estremadura and Gran Canaria. The European Union has set clear goals. It wants to stop depending on third countries for its supply of raw materials, and the new Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMA) mark the way: By 2030, at least 10% of critical minerals must be extracted within Europe, 40% processed on EU soil and 15% from recycling. Furthermore, no external country may concentrate more than 65% of the supply. On this map, Spain appears as a key piece: with Galicia, Castilla y León, Andalusia and Extremadura at the forefront, the country could become one of the gateways to the new European green reindustrialization. European autonomy is in Galicia. The roar of the excavators in A Gudiña not only marks the beginning of a new mine, but also the symbol of a change of era. Europe wants to leave decades of dependence behind and build a more sovereign and sustainable industry. From a Galician hillside, a small tungsten mine has become part of that strategy. What begins in Pentes may be, deep down, one more piece of the new energy and technological map of Europe. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The price of silver is exploding to levels not seen since 1980. The reason: we need too much

In a town of 2,000 inhabitants on the edge of Ourense something strange happens every summer: it is filled with millionaires

by

Neither Puerto Banusnor the resorts Caribbean, nor the coast of Malta, nor the exclusive Palm Islands from Dubai. When the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú It’s your turn to plan your summer vacation, one of the destinations that is always on your calendar is Planea hidden town in rural Ourense. And he’s not the only one. In the summer, magnates such as Amancio Ortega or Olegario Vázquez Grañasenior managers of El Corte Inglés and Abanca or even the cardinal of Mexico City, Norberto Riverawho came to considered papal. On its streets it is also not unusual to find a Rolls-Royce or Bentley. And all in a municipality that does not reach 2,000 neighbors. Welcome to Avion Seen on the map, Avión does not attract particular attention. The town is located in the Ribeiro regionbetween the Faro and Suído mountains, in the province of Ourense. In summer it is common for maximum temperatures go over 35º and to enjoy the beaches of the Rías Baixas you need to get in the car, take the highway and travel a good handful of kilometers. Its statistical data does not stand out on the Galician map either. The demographic winter has not passed Avión by, which over the years has seen how his census was deflating until you stay in less than 1,800 inhabitants. The percentage of population under 20 years of age in the municipality is only 5.66% and its aging rate far exceeds that of the rest of the region. As far as economy is concerned, Macro data recorded In 2021, an average gross income of 16,410 euros, below the capital of the province, which was close to 26,800. And yet, for years it has not been strange to find great magnates spending the summer in Avión. And no, the term “great magnates” is not a figure of speech nor is it an exaggeration. newspapers like Vigo Lighthouse either The Voice of Galicia They usually cover in detail how the Augusts go by in the town of Ourense, so we manage a fairly long and detailed list of businessmen, senior managers and authorities who have been seen in its streets and bars. Of all, perhaps the most striking is Carlos Slima Mexican billionaire with Lebanese roots who sneaks in often in the TOP 10 of the wealthiest people in the world. Forbes estimates that together with his family he has a fortune of about 85.7 billion of dollars. He is not the only fan of Avión, a regular destination for Vazquez Grañaone of the richest men in Mexico. Through its streets has also been seen to the founder of Inditex, Amancio Ortegaclosely linked to Galicia and which also stands out as one of the fortunes more overwhelming of the planet. Are they the only ones? No. The Galician press leaves a good list of personalities who at some point have paraded through the streets of the town of Ourense. The list is long. And curious. Vigo Lighthouse explains how in August 2014, coinciding with the celebration of the local festival (San Roque) and the anniversary of Olegario Graña’s wife, one could see in Avión a Miguel Rinconknown as “the king of paper” in Mexico by the Bio Pappel firm; the captain Alberto Abedfrom FlyMex; Isidoro Alvarezformer president of El Corte Inglés; or the cardinal Norberto Riveraa powerful prelate who entered the pools to Pope in 2005. Carlos Slim, orange tie, in the center. (Commons) The most curious thing about Slim or Vázquez Graña’s summer vacations in Avión is that the tycoons do not seclude themselves in mansions to enjoy the isolation and move discreetly from their heliports. Not at all. They use their Rolls-Royce and BentleyTrue, but they are also seen in the town’s bars to sit at the table to eat seafood or play a game of dominoes. And no, again that’s not a figure of speech. In August 2013 could be seen Carlos Slim, Vázquez Raña, Rincón and the notary Daniel Goñi playing with the black and white chips on the rubber of the Moncho bar. The print was repeated a year later and in 2017 The Country I recaptured a similar quote at the O Luar bar. Of course, there is no lack either food and music. The town even celebrates a mexican partywith mariachis included. But… Why Plane? That’s the big question. Slim lands with his private jet at the Peinador airport, in Vigo, and travels to the small town of Ourense. Why there and not to some paradisiacal destination or some secluded beach in his native Mexico or Lebanon, from where were originally your parents? The key is in the history of Avión, to be more precise in its very strong ties with emigration: during the 20th century, not a few of its neighbors were forced to pack their bags, get on a transatlantic liner and cross the ocean to find a life in Latin America. Some did well, quite well. And they or now their descendants they keep the link with the town. The case more paradigmatic and that largely explains Carlos Slim’s time at Avión is that of Vázquez Raña. “Our parents left here when I was little. As in many towns in Galicia, there was no future. The mosquitoes ate us. And on the unpaved roads our feet sank in animal excrement,” relates to Vigo Lighthouse Ricardo Hermida, a hotelier who emigrated to Mexico. In Avión they not only reconnect with their roots. There, despite the increasingly frequent coming and going of television cameras, reporters and photographers in search of the best snapshot, they enjoy a tranquility and naturalness that is difficult to achieve in other destinations. “In Mexico I move around in an armored car with six bodyguards; in Avión I am free, otherwise I wouldn’t come here,” admits Vázquez Graña. The expression “the Airplane method” is not ours, but Alberto Dacasaa Mexican businessman with Galician roots and a regular summer resident in the town of Ourense. Last year he released a … Read more

In Spain there is a “black triangle” of fires between Ourense, Zamora and León. And it is not explained only by heat

by

The drawing is bleak. If you open Google Mapsactivate the “fire” function And you take a look at the map of Spain you will see that much of the flames that are devouring the mountain of the country (and some populated areas) seem to concentrate on a particular ‘triangle of fire’ between the provinces of Ourense, León and Zamora. There are the fires of Mozyuelas de la Caballea, Yeres or that of Queixa Chandrexawhich have already razed thousands and thousands of hectares. It is not the only region of Spain punished by the flames, but the big question is … Why do forest fires seem to be primed right in that region? The Spain that burns. It is not being a good August for the mountains of the country. According to The last report of the Ministry of Environment (Miteco), still incomplete because its technicians do not have the data of the large active fires, so far this year the flames have devastated 138,800 ha. And that is the calculation to August 10, so it does not include the devastated surface during the last week. To better understand what this data is, remembering that between January and the first week of September 2024 the forest fires burned 43,655 ha or that throughout 2023 they had calcined 89,000. If we look back, at the last decade, there was only one more disastrous exercise than the current one: 2022, when at this point of the year they had burned Around 215,000 hectares. Is the whole country the same? No. The flames have punished to a greater or lesser extent Andalusia, Estremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia and the regions of Valencia and Madridto quote only some examples, but there is a specific area of the Peninsula that is suffering from the dentelladas of the fire with special virulence: the triangle formed by the provinces of Ourense, León and Zamora. Tan a Fast look To Google Maps to check it. There is Chandrexa de Queixa, which has affected more than 17,000 ha And it is already considered The most destructive of the history of Galicia. Also that of Mozyuelas de la Carballedathat passed from Zamora to León and has calcined several dozens of hectares. Looking for the causes. The big question is … why do that region hit so much fury? What are the causes? The question is interesting because it is not an isolated phenomenon: there are populations, like Castromil’sbetween Ourense and Zamora, who have resigned themselves to deal with fire every year. For the impact of the flames on the ‘triangle’ between Zamora, León and Ourense He wondered Recently in X Francisco M. Azcárate, professor of ecology, biology and environmental sciences. And its entry response is interesting: the succession of forest fires in that region of the Peninsula cannot be attributed to pyologists or negligence. Or that is not the only cause at least. In the background there are more complex structural reasons that have to do with the characteristics of that area or changes in the use of the territory. Meteorology earrings. “Climatically, the area fits perfectly with ecosystems that, naturally, have a high frequency of important fires,” Azcárate starts Before aiming the influence of the rainy season, during which biomass accumulates, and dry, marked by the mass of dry and very flammable vegetation. To this factor is added the frequency of fires in humid Mediterranean climates or the effect of climate change, which influences extreme temperatures and “extends the risk season.” The fire wave has in fact coincided with Another heat which began in early August and that already stands out as one of The most durable Since at least the 70s, which is when the historical Aemet starts. Although it is not an inflexible guideline, experts have not been warning that the fight against forest fires is especially complex when the known as the known as ‘Rule 30-30-30’: Temperatures above 30ºC, wind gusts of more than 30 km/Hy a humidity of less than 30%. Click on the image to go to Tweet. The perfect cocktail. Not only do climatic conditions or heat wave influence, which has spread far beyond the Ourean-Leon-Zamora triangle. Another of the keys that explains the impact of fires in that concrete area of the Peninsula must be sought, Azcárate points out, on the ground and orography. “The region has acidic and little fertile soils. This favors more flammable plant communities, due to the composition of plants’ tissues,” The expert reflects. At stake also enters the orography of that region, marked by an “abrupt relief” that hinders the access of “erratic and strong” seals that can abruptly change the direction of the flames. A few years ago Civio analyzed The main fires recorded in Spain throughout the 2007-2016 decade and discovered that in almost 80% of cases (153 of 196) the gusts exceeded 30 km/h, which could influence the evolution of fire. Something more than weather and orography. Not everything is climate, meteorology, orography or soil characteristics. In the fires it is influencing another factor than You are talking a lot During the last days: the depopulation of the rural one (which is usually accompanied by the abandonment of fields and a change in forest management), something that starts from the provinces of Ourense, Zamora and León They know well. “In general in Spain there has been rural, population and peoples abandonment and depopulation is a food for fires,” Celso Coco warnsfire expert and forest management in The opinion-the mail of Zamora. And what does that suppose? “The consequence is that in those areas where it was worked, it was grown, it was granted, natural vegetation has been installed and there is no use of them, which has increased the forest area greatly. This continuity of vegetation, without management, results in a vulnerable landscape,” duck. In their opinion, forest fires “have existed, exist and exist” and constitute “a natural process”, but changes in the landscape have affected their impact: where they were previously found with land … Read more

The megaindios of Ourense, Zamora and León have paralyzed the Galician bird. It is the nth setback in a horrible year for Renfe

by

The Madrid-Galicia bird had become an oasis for Renfe. The Spanish company, objective of all kinds of criticism during 2025 had seen how the Galician corridor was even bending the arm to the airlines. The fires are, now, the last unexpected twist that leaves a trail of cancellations, delays and travelers desperate to find an alternative route to the train. Fires. They are, without any doubt, the news that marks the rate of today in Spain. When we write these linesthere are more than 40 active fires in our country. Of these, two out of three foci They are located in Castilla y León. In addition, only in Ourense (Galicia) have burned more than 60,000 hectares. Lack of resources, forests that are lacking maintenance and one heat wave that seems to have no end They have been the perfect fuel to find ourselves in a situation that has been out of control. Click on the image to go to the original tweet Cut. With the provinces of Zamora, León and Ourense surrounded by the fire, the bird has stopped completely. This morning, Renfe confirmed in his X account that the circulation was interrupted “until the competent authorities allow resumption.” It is the fifth day that Renfe keeps the high -speed line between Madrid and Galicia suspended since Last Thursday, August 14, it would be suspended For the first time the rail service. The previous day, Wednesday, August 13the company already had to suspend some of the paths during the afternoon. Click on the image to go to the original publication From Madrid to Zamora. At the moment, the only solution that Renfe has given is to open a train that makes the journey between Madrid and Zamora. With an eye on the evolution of the fires, for the moment the only alternative they keep open is the one mentioned in the image superior. In the responses to the publication, Renfe confirms that There is no alternative plan For travelers who had tickets bought for any of the Galician cities. Bus alternatives have not been established, For example, and they don’t guarantee When can you return to normal. The nth problem. The interruption of traffic in the Galician corridor is the nth bad news for the company that is living a 2025 to forget. If we make a list of everything that has happened in the previous seven months that we have throughout the year we find the following: A flying line. The situation is even more complicated, taking into account that the Galician corridor was being the line that was best working at Renfe. As high speed has been settling, the data says There is a traveler transfer from the plane to the trainwhich is offered as a more flexible and interesting alternative if you want to spend less than 24-36 hours in Madrid. Besides, The particularities of the line and orders saturation to manufacturers have caused Renfe to have a dominant position on competitors. Although the line is liberalized and any company can operate, the truth is that companies such as Ouigo lack adequate rolling material and They do not expect to have it in the short term. What can the traveler do? At the moment, little if I planned to use the high speed line between Madrid and Galicia. As we have seen, Renfe is only partially offering, between Madrid and Zamora. Once there, there is no other than taking a car or a bus to continue the trip. Options for traveling tomorrow, August 19, between Santiago de Compostela and Madrid Shot prices. The other option, of course, is to fly from Madrid to one of the Galician airports. Of course, from one day to another, flying from Madrid to Vigo, to Coruña or Santiago de Compostela forces to invest more than 100 euros per ticket (there are only three options for less than that money and Vigo does not have them) and in some cases the prices per trip exceed 300 euros. But the trip is very complicated in the reverse sense. From one day to another, the cheapest option to travel between Vigo and Madrid forces to disburse 369 euros, from A Coruña you can travel from 272 euros and from Santiago de Compostela you have to disburse 379 euros. All data have been taken from the flight search engine Skyscanner. Photo | Hugh Llewelyn and Ume In Xataka | Each new data we know about the AVE in Spain points in the same direction: it is winning the game to Barajas

Zamora and Ourense were only richer than the poorest provinces in southern Spain for pensions. And they are already losing them

by

The pension system (and above all Your sustainability in the medium and long term) it may be a challenge for the State, but it is also a important economic engine. Retirees generate employment. And move wealth. Its weight is relevant especially in certain provinces of Spain emptied and depopulated in which those over 65 years of age come More than 30% of the entire population. The problem is that some points of the Spanish geography face A worrying threat: lose that last (and crucial) source of income. The reason is very simple: they lose more pensioners than they win. Spain, increasingly old. Spain ages. The average age of the population It has been increasing Throughout the last decades and if nothing changes it will continue to do so (at least) mid -21st centurya drift that arrives accompanied by a widening of the cusp of the population pyramid. And for sample A button: If in 1998 there were 8.63 million people over 60 years old in Spain, in 2022 there were already 12.57 million, 26.5% of the total census. The great paradox. If there are more elderly, it is normal to think that there will be more retirees charging pensions. And it is so, although with certain nuances. As remember Javier Jorrín in The confidential The situation is not the same in all regions of Spain, just as it has not been its demographic drift over the last years. And that in practice can lead to a curious phenomenon: that in a country in full aging there are provinces that begin to lose pensioners. What is the reason? A peculiar Sorpasso. In some provinces there are already more elderly that exceed the life expectancy (81.1 years for them, 86.3 for them) that workers about to retire, a mismatch that invites you to think that in not much time they will begin to lose pensioners. There are three province in fact that they already face that peculiar situation: Lugo, Ourense and Zamora. In all the population over 83, it exceeds the one that moves between 60 and 64. Why does it matter? For several reasons. The number of pensioners in these provinces still grows and the Galician Statistics Institute esteem For example, at the end of the next decade, the population over 65 years in Lugo will have increased sensitively, but there are certain signs that suggest that this increase will end up reversing. In 2039 In the same Galician province there will be 26,800 people between 60 and 65 years against 40,108 over 80 years. Something more than demography. That there are territories of empty Spain that face the perspective of winning less retirees than they lose is not a simple demographic curiosity. Pensions have become a key piece of the Spanish economy, especially of aging and depopulated regions. A study Recent of the University of Castilla-La Mancha concluded, based on data from 2021, that pensions paid to over 65 years Rondan 8% of GDP and his expense promotes the equivalent of 1.2 million of full -time jobs. Household Pilar. A few years ago CCOO developed another report that also revealed its weight in Spanish homes. According to union calculations, one in five Spanish households (21.6%) already depend on an economic level, to a greater or lesser extent, on a retired pensioner. “There are four million homes whose person and reference is retired,” The study concluded. The reason for that percentage? Both the increase in households formed by adults and “the precariousness of the working conditions of people of working age”, which explains that they rely on the resources provided by their retirees. With that data on the table there are Who already points that pensions have become the great source of solidarity towards unpopulated regions. A country with nuances. To understand the figures you have to take into account several keys. And especially the context. The number of pensions in the whole of Spain It has been increasing progressively over the last years and everything indicates that this trend will not be reversed. In spring the airf estimates that the total expenditure on pensions will grow more than 4% annual until 2040 promoted in part by the revaluation based on the CPI, but also the increase of pensioners. The really important thing is how that already withdrawn population is distributed and especially how it will do it as the Boomersa cohort that once starred in internal migration from Spain emptied to large population centers. In fact, while there are regions and provinces that lose inhabitants about to retire (60-64 years) in others their number grows at a good pace. A third key factor is the amount of the amount of the pensions themselves. Images | VLADA SARGU (UNSPLASH) and Philippe Leone (UNSPLASH) Via | The confidential In Xataka | Being your own boss has a price: an average retirement pension 657 euros lower than employees

Galicia has advised not to bathe in the most famous hot springs of Ourense. His mayor has responded to the Fraga in Palomares

by

Is it worth an image than a thousand words? Manuel Fraga believed so. That is why in 1966, when he served as Minister of Information and Tourism of Franco, he starred in one of the more emblematic moments (and Castizos) of the recent homeland: a swimsuit was put and accompanied by the then US ambassador, Angier Biddle Dukethere was a dip near Palomares. It was only a few weeks that several thermonuclear bombs had fallen in the area after the collision of a B-52 bomber and an American tank plane and (of course) an image of a certain normality had to be transmitted. If Fraga himself bathed without fear of radiation why were people going to do it? Almost 60 years later the mayor of Ourense, Gonzalo Pérez Jácomeit seems to have reached the same conclusion as your compatriot. To clear the doubts about the health of Las Termas do Muiño, one of the most popular claims of the municipality, the councilor decided to cope some bermuda and take a bath before the cameras. Of course, instead of Angier B. Duke to him accompanied his own councilor in charge of the portfolios of tourism, arts and celebrations and thermal management, Noa Rouco Ferreira. Both in a swimsuit, both arranged to the dip. “As if we would return 60 years ago” Click on the image to go to Tweet. “Five, four, three … we are here, in the hot springs of Muiño”, Pérez Jácome starts in a video in which he poses next to Rouco and a huge poster of the Xunta that advises the bathroom in the area. Before following the mayor realizes that without a shirt or shirt he has no way to hold his micro in the flap, so he chooses to hook it on the hairs of the chest. Solved that small logistics, continues, pointing to the poster with the Galician government logo. “It would be very long to explain all this regulation, which is a roll. You will see through our social networks and different informative channels what the situation of the hot springs is. The fact is that this is the recommendation of the Xunta,” insists pointing the poster. “And as if we came back 50 or 60 years agowith that of Palomares, here the councilor and a server, the mayor of Ourense, we are going to take a bath. “ At that point the video is cut to show Jácome and Rouco in the water. “Natural paradise, incomparable in the world. I pay attention to me, pay me attention. You will see, you will see,” proclamation The mayor of Ourensana Democracy (DO) lying in the water with his partner. The piece lasts 68 seconds, enough for the ‘bathroom in Palomares’ of Jácome has become news in the rest of Spain and the video fly in networks, something that is already accustomed. Throughout the last years the Galician has gained impact beyond the local chronicle by The music video with which his party was presented to the elections, a piece in which he versioned the Village People; Your crusade Against the bollards either The teleworking and his hubby by The costumes. Now adds a new reason: a picture with echoes of the Fraga bath in Palomares and The jacuzzi of Jesús Gil. In the background there is something more complex: the status of the Termas do Muiñoa set of swimming pools almost in the bed of the Miño very popular in Galicia. In June the Xunta He warned That the area does not have the statement of thermal water or complies with the characteristics to be declared a “bath area”, which warned: “As long as it is not regularized, from the Xunta the City Council is requested to place a signage that reports the recommendation of the recommendation of Refrain from the bathroom“ For the Consistory things are different. In A statement released after the bathroom of Jácome insists that the “discrepancy” with the Xunta is only of “administrative, non -sanitary” character and insists that the bathroom does not represent any risk. “The hot springs maintain the same usual health, what has changed is the regulations of the Xunta by introducing new administrative requirements, than non -sanitary,” emphasize The ourensana democracy leader, who ensures that the “periodic analytics” that the City Council performs the health of the waters. For now, his media dip He has achieved something: That Media Spain is talking about the hot springs of Muiño, something that does not come to them badly now that the installation has returned after several months closed by the floods of the Miño. Images | Gonzalo Pérez Jácome (X) In Xataka | If the question is how to prevent people from throwing garbage outside the cubes, in Galicia they have had an idea: rummage into it

Ourense is synonymous with heat and 40ºC in summer

by

The ourensans are more accustomed to the heat of what we would commonly think for one of the Galician provinces. The municipality has broken the record Several times in the last decades of the highest temperatures marked in Europe. It is not that it has exceeded the absolute figure, but has exceeded other typically torrid cities on the same dates, and for a notable difference. The Coasts of the Atlantic Ocean have always been famous for being cold and wet. Even in summer, Galicia enjoys softer temperatures than the rest of the peninsula due to pure oceanic climate. Well, at least in almost all its territory, because if we take into account Ourense this premise may not be fulfilled. Embedded between green mountains and bathed by the Miño, Ourense is, without a doubt, somewhat peculiar. And, although it is of a very Galician character, and it has nothing to envy landscapes and atmosphere to its sister provinces, instead of having a purely oceanic climate sometimes There are more typical episodes of subtropical areas. This has led to the records of maximum temperatures several times over the last decades. Galician, but hot The previous occasion was in 2017, when Ourense beat the maxim during the month of May. At that time, the city reached 37.6 ºC (together with Ribadavia), which meant the breakdown of the European record for those dates. At that time, the entire peninsula lived a very hot climate for spring, but especially the Ourensana capital, which recorded throughout the month sustained temperatures above 30 ºCusually reaching 36 ºC. In 2013, in full heat wave of Julio, Ourense reached 45 ° Cwith a thermal sensation of up to 51 ºC, while in Seville, a typically hot city, the 45 ° C were reached, and that in Europe The maximums were around 40 ºC. In 2012, this city was also among the hottest spring, reaching temperatures comparable to those of the southern peninsular. In July 1990, the extreme figure of 42.2 ºC was reached in Ourense a record number, again, for those dates. And so the account becomes long, with numerous similar episodes. How do you explain that Ourense is one of the hottest cities being so north? However, we do not need to go back back in time to identify the peculiar warmth that the climate of this Galician province entails. According to the weather file prepared by Meteoblue During the last days of the current month of June the maximum temperature has risen until touching the 35 ° Cwhich, once again, consolidates it as one of the European regions with the warmest climate. A subtropical climate in Galicia In 1900, Wladimir Peter Köppen designed a Climate Classification System. This consists of a global natural climate classification that identifies each type of climate with a series of letters that indicate the behavior of temperatures and rainfall that characterizes this type of climate. According to this classification, Galicia is in a pure or subocean oceanic climate, identified with CWB and CWC figures. However, Ourense does not enter into this classification, but corresponds to a CSA climate, that is, a typical Mediterranean climate. The typical Mediterranean is characterized by dry and hot summers, with average temperatures above 22 ° C and wet and rainy winters, with soft temperatures. The colder the month, according to this system, the rainiest results; Already the reverse, the hotter the month, the drier results, although they do not have to coincide exactly. In an oceanic climate, such as the rest of Galicia, however, summers are much cooler than in areas with subtropical or Mediterranean humid climate. Why does it depart so much from the rest of the region? The answer is undoubtedly in the orography. The Valles del Miño and Sil They produce a geographical barrier that directs the weather. Thus, there is a kind of thermal well promoted by a thermal investment effect. This phenomenon occurs when the coldest layers and close to the ground cannot ascend since they are blocked by a still cold layer. This generates a layer of clouds and calima over Ourense, which causes an increase in temperatures in the area due to a local greenhouse effect, where radiation from the bouncing surface. Thus, although the morning dawns fresh, as the day takes place, solar radiation heats the air that remains imperturbable in the same area. This orographic configuration, in fact, would have been responsible for THE EXPLOSION OF LIFE that the region has lived In the last 120,000 yearsafter glaciation. As indicated by the geographers of the Department of Xeography of the University of Santiago de Compostela, the diversity of temperatures responds to the existing contrasts between the different areas of Galician geography. These contrasts, in turn, must, as we said, to the so particular geographical configuration of Galicia in combination with the distances that are even the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, both in the interior valleys of Miño and Sil, and in the interior depressions of Verín and Monforte, there are very high temperatures compared to northern Galicia, where you can register up to twenty degrees less for being subjected to fresher winds, from the ocean. In Xataka | At the end of May we reached 40ºC: it is only the appetizer of the decimer summer a consecutive warmer than normal according to aemet In Xataka | The Mediterranean is more than two degrees above normal: and it is something that has serious consequences in Spain

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.