rained

It has rained so much that Morocco has not looked so green for a decade

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That the first two months of 2026 it has rained a lot It is something that we can say because we have lived it in our flesh, but its impact is such that the Earth, or rather, the portions of it where rainfall has occurred almost continuously, has also suffered a before and after. You may notice that there is more vegetation or that the river is higher, but from space it looks better: this scar in the south of the peninsula It is magnificent proof of this. The European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-3 continues to patrol the planet to record sea and land surface temperatures, sea level height and ocean color to study climate, oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. And in its sweep it has left a shocking image: the new and green Morocco. Precipitation in recent months in Morocco reached 360 millimeters at the beginning of February 2026, 54% above the average of the last 30 years and 215% more than in 2025, as reported by Swissinfothe international service of Swiss public radio and television. Torrential rains have given Morocco a respite With this rainy season, the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, announced the end of a cycle of continuous seven-year drought that had wreaked havoc on agriculture and livestock. The situation was so critical that Morocco breathed a sigh of relief: the politician explained that with these rains the country was assured of up to three years of drinking water. Of course, like Spain, Morocco also suffered from floods like the one that occurred in the Loukkos basin (they reached maximum flows of almost 3200 cubic meters per second). From drought to orchard in the north of Morocco. Via: Copernicus Sentinel 3 As a picture says a thousand words, above these lines is the northeast of Morocco photographed by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 in mid-February 2025 in the middle of the drought and a year later. In 2025, the scarce vegetation was visible from space and now, after two months of intense rains, the terrain has been transformed into an expanse of green vegetation visible from space. The image on the left corresponds to February 20, 2025 and a generalized drought can be seen in practically the entire area. On the right, just a year later, you can see extensive vegetation. However, on February 20 of this year, available water resources reached 11.8 billion cubic meters, according to the data managed by the ESAwhich represents an increase of approximately 155% compared to the same period in 2025. These rains have also made it possible to fill the reservoirs, which has reached 70.7% of the total capacity of the dams. According to the Moroccan media Le Matinare figures that the North African country had not seen since 2018. Faced with this hydraulic pressure, the authorities have carried out various controlled preventive releases of water to protect the structures. But beyond ensuring its infrastructure, these rains have a direct impact on Morocco’s water economy: from consumption to the agricultural sector through hydroelectric plants. In Xataka | The brutal floods facing Portugal and western Spain, seen from space In Xataka | A 2.5 billion-year-old geological wonder: Zimbabwe’s Great Dam seen by NASA from space

It has rained so much in Spain during 2025 that we are going to have the worst citrus harvest of the last 16 years

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has just published the capacity of citrus of this year. At first glance, the data are devastating: it is estimated that Spanish farmers They will produce 5.44 million tons of citrus fruits. That is 10.7% less than last campaign and 14.2% less than the last five campaigns. We talk about the worst campaign in 16 years. The only positive thing about this data is that they are better that those who were giving the producers themselves. A world giant … in back. Do not forget that, for the Spanish economy, citrus fruits are not one more product. Not only is the sixth citrus producer of the world; It is that almost 25% of global exports leave here and, in fact, more than half of national production is used for sale in foreign markets. Every year, the country sells the equivalent of 3.6 billion euros throughout the country. With this in mind, the fall in production could be seen as a lousy news and, nevertheless, the Spanish field is at a point where (without despising its pernicious effects) it can be the best that has happened to it. As? As it sounds. The best example is lemon, according to ministry estimates, lemon production would fall to about 866,657 tons. That is, 14.7% less than the previous year: 149,400 tons less. It seems a lot, but we take into account that, According to COAGlast year they were discarded around 400,000 tons. The figure does not seem so big. In the end, in just eight years, Spain has gone from having 36,000 hectares dedicated to the cultivation of lemon to 53,000. The lemon went from being “the chicken of the golden eggs” from the Spanish field to a trap that has forced many producers to start tear out trees. However, that is not the reason for the fall. According to the mapthe main factors behind this setback are the excessive spring rain (which coincided with flowering and contributed to their rot), high temperatures during citrus development and a series of hail episodes in producing areas. Where does Spanish agriculture go? Be that as it may, this adjustment of oranges and lemons can help to clean up a sector that has a long time. The question, however, is what damage will cause that sanitation and which parts of the sector will take ahead. As with other agricultural products (such as The Canary Islands banana or the traditional olive grove) the succession of bad years has led the producers to the edge of the abyss and all the alternatives are bad. Image | Jesus Ginter | Noele Cooper Image | From the fever to the crisis of lemon: why in Spain there are 400 million kilos of fruit that nobody wants to collect

It has rained so much that Spanish legumes are literally rage

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A phytosanitary alert. Most of the time everything starts like this: a phytosanitary alert and chaos. In this case, the alarm He has launched it The Junta de Castilla y León and the reason has been the rage and Mildiu. We do not know if 2025 will be the worst year for legumes in Spain, but of course it will try. What happened? That the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development Spanish and Leonesa “He has issued A phytosanitary alert aimed at farmers in the region, especially those who cultivate legumes “before the detection of rage (disgust) and Mildiu. It is no accident. The abundant rain of recent months creates the perfect conditions for these two diseases to extend like gunpowder. They are two diseases of fungal origin that cause lesions in leaves, stems or pods. And, in general, they greatly reduce the performance of the bushes. What does the alert entail? In general, a series of recommendations. The Board asks farmers to monitor their plots actively, make an individualized diagnosis if they find visible symptoms of the disease and manage it according to the Technical Support Protocols which facilitates the Ministry. But is it really a problem? Yes. Having fungi of this type belling at ease for some of the main agricultural areas of the country is always a problem. But as if that were a little, it is a quite bad year for legumes. And the best example is the chickpeas. In good part of the country, chickpea plantations They go with great delay. In general, the chickpea has to be more than 100 days in the countryside and “this year, hopefully, will pass 60”. In fact, Just a couple of weeks ago“the plant would have to measure a span and still without sowing” because the accumulation of water on the grounds made it unfeasible. This is a problem because The norms of common agricultural policy obliges to farmers to plant legumes. So we find crops under developed by meteorology and that are widespread for an administrative issue: there is only a plague to round the argument of an economic and productive crisis of a considerable size. To this we must add that our largest chickpea supplier (Commercial war through) It is the United States. And what will happen? It is a good question. Except that implode the international market, consumers are not likely to notice all this. After all, Mexico, Canada and other countries They are in conditions to compensate for our legume needs. At the productive level, The thing is more complicated: As I said, the PAC makes exposure to a bad legume harvest high. And that will complicate the life of a good part of a sector that, After years of droughtI hoped to recover normal this 2025. All scenario are on the table, but what seems clear is that lthe processes of Fielding of the field will accelerate. Image | Shelley Pauls | Aemet In Xataka | It has rained 143% more than normal this March. Although it does not seem like it, for the Spanish field it is also a problem

It has rained 143% more than normal and Spanish agriculture has suddenly entered into crisis mode. They do not lack reasons

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After more than 20 days of continuous rainfall and four huge high impact stories, peninsula floors They are practically saturated. And it should not be a surprise: the amount of water that has fallen has been 143% above Normal. And, although it may seem good news, it doesn’t always rain to everyone’s taste. Isn’t it good news? At the agroganadero level, there are many farms to which this Borrascas festival has been very good: vineyards, olive groves, nuts, dryland cereals and, in general, the livestock that feeds on pastures. But the field is much bigger. Andalusia It’s a good example. Only in the province of Seville, sunflower, chickpea, pea, cabbage and grelo have been affected. But there are more: the red fruits of Huelva, the pepper, the cucumber, the watermelon and the melon Almeria or the lettuce, the broccoli and the Murcian cauliflower. This is going to add the Granada asparagus if the situation is maintained. But why? For a concatenation of factors, of course. Floods have drowned many sown (with “root, gangrene and fungal asphyxiation problems”); The low temperatures are slowing down the development (when not burning) numerous crops; and the lack of labor (or the impossibility of working on lands) prevents the necessary works – or even collection. In figures, According to news four“Farmers find only 15% production.” So much so that a few days ago the Andalusian farmers sighed for just 15 days of sun. And what will happen? If everything goes well (that is, if everything goes as expected) nothing should happen. It is true that the situation has been harmful, but if the time is normalized and without water restrictions, the campaign is in time to save. If the “anomalous” situation lengthens, we will have a problem. However, whatever it is, it is very possible that we notice the break in the supermarket. A couple of years ago, Europe He ran out of red pepper For a cold wave. What has happened is very similar. Right now, there are a dozen products that play with the breakage of the supply. In case climate change I would not assume enough problemsnow it is stubborn to mess up the stations. And that, of course, is a challenge for one of the key sectors of Spain. Image | Markus Winkler | CHANDLER CRUTTINGE In Xataka | “Not a crop is saved”: Spain is about to discover in its flesh the effects of water scarcity

It has rained so much in Spain that the reservoirs are up. And still nobody wants to remove water restrictions

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For more than a month, when Garoé, Éowyn, Herminia and Ivo They synchronized to water the peninsula, the water level of Spain has been decreasing day by day. March has changed everything. In just one week, the accumulated water increased almost 3% and 2025 remains above the 2024, 2023 records and the average of the last 10 years. Aemet He has already warned That comes more water and that “the long duration drought, in which Spain entered at the end of 2023 and that still lasts at the end of February, will also end up reversing most likely with what is raining” Ahroa himself. And yet, the administrations have come out in Tromba … To say there will be no changes. Catalonia is the best example: although the reserves already exceed 40% and is, for good, in an unpublished situation for more than 50 months, the Minister of Territory and spokesman of the Generalitat, Silvia Paneque, He explained that the situation “It does not completely solve the situation we are living.” In Andalusia the reaction has been similar. In fact, the Board has delayed Until the end of March or early April, making any decision on drought. In Murcia they go further and not only is not withdrawing measures, but they are working on Expand measures To stop the drought. And, on paper, it makes sense. At the purely administrative level and as explained, for example, the Catalan Water Agency, from the pre -alert level, can be considered that The drought has sent. However, water stress problems in the interior basins of Catalonia, Segura or the Andalusian Mediterranean basins are systemic. In that sense, no one advocates directly to withdraw control measures and restrictions. The problem is that with that it is not enough. And it is not enough because the fact that the restrictions are not removed means nothing. Moreover, it can be even worse. We know it from experience. I quote it often, but Datadista has a fantastic investigation In which it looks very clearly how “from the deep drought of the 1990s, each dry period has served to implement emergency measures (…) or allow practices that were not eliminated when the rains returned, they were used to expand irrigation, increasing the problem of overexploitation and contamination of aquifers and the wetlands to which they feed.” That is, the fact that administrations resist raising prohibitions does not serve much if that surplus takes advantage of efficiency improvements to implement policies that, ultimately, “make the country’s water system more fragile” instead of favoring that becoming more robust. The most important drought happens when drought ends. That is the great historical lesson that can give us the water management of Spain: that the crucial is what happens when the weather drought has disappeared and we have to make decisions about what to do with all that water we did not have before. In that context, prudence calls are interesting and necessary. But they need a transition plan behind, but we will simply be building closer and closer to that cliff called climate change. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | After becoming the most humid March, Konrad also wants to turn it into one of the coldest: the snow is back

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