storm

China wants to lay a cable from Chile to Hong Kong. And in the process, it has put Chile in a storm against the US

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Next March 11, Chile will have a new president. Gabriel Boric will no longer be in charge of the country and José Antonio Kast will land in the presidential chair. And he arrives just to take care of a morrocotudo mess: the submarine cable that China is deploying from Valparaíso to Hong Kong. And, evidently, the United States does not like this situation one bit. To the point that he considers it dangerous for his safety. In short. On February 20, the United States revoked the visas of three Chilean officials. The reason? Concern about an underwater cable that will connect Chile and Hong Kong. It’s not so much the cable, but who is ‘pulling’ it: China. As they point out in Mercopressit was the outgoing president who managed the agreement to deploy this cable through a concession decree signed on January 27, which allowed the company China Mobile to install, operate and exploit the cable. 48 hours later, that act was annulled citing “technical errors” and the Boric Administration commented that the project was in the evaluation process. The United States, however, wasted no time and banned the visas of the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, and the Chief of Staff of Subtel (Chile’s Undersecretary of Telecommunications). The storm it had just started. political war. Marco Rubio is the Secretary of State of the United States and accused Chilean officials for having “knowingly directed, authorized, financed and supported activities that compromise critical telecommunications infrastructure.” You may be wondering what the United States cares about what Chile does, but Rubio continued by pointing out that this decision “undermines regional security in our hemisphere.” “Which hemisphere” is not the question, but what is happening now. Because Chile has responded that the accusation is “absolutely false” and describes the United States measure as “unilateral,” also pointing out that it is something that goes against Chile’s sovereignty. China has not stood by and, through its embassy in Santiago de Chile, accused the United States of acting in a hegemonic manner, ignoring Chile’s sovereignty to carry out these projects in its territory. If you look closely, the cables from the American continent pass through the US except for Google’s Halaihai, at least directly Cross-fire. Brandon Judd is the US ambassador to Chile and has sided with his government… going a little further in the accusations. Affirms which had already warned the Chilean authorities of what would happen, describing the agreement with China as an intrusion into Chilean telecommunications systems carried out by “malicious foreign actors.” And, as we said, it will be next March 11 when the new president will take office with a pending task: solving a monumental ballot. From the Foreign Relations Department of the incoming president, it has already been saying that “everything possible will be done to ensure that foreign policy allows for the best possible relations with all countries.” A 0º, neither cold nor hot. Influence. Leaving domestic and foreign politics aside, the cable is known as Chile-China Express and is estimated to measure almost 20,000 kilometers. It will link the Chilean city of Concón and reach Hong Kong. The budget is about 500 million dollars and its importance seems key because it would represent the first transpacific data route that would completely avoid routing through North America. From China Mobile it is pointed out that this cable will allow establish Chile as “the central node of the computing power network between China and Latin America.” Now we begin to understand what it is that “undermines regional security in our hemisphere” to which Marco Rubio referred. If completed, it will be a cable deployed by China and in which the United States will have no say, but which reaches the American continent. And we say that it is an important ballot for the new president because the United States injects a lot of money into Chile, being its main foreign investor, but China is the main trading partner of the country. A cable is going to put Kast between a rock and a hard place. Not only in telecommunications. In the background, we have a United States that is looking at the wolf’s ears. In recent months, and at an accelerated pace, China has been moving its chips. It has done this in developing countries on the African continent through energy deals, infrastructure construction, agreements to mine strategic elements and expand its automobile market. But he is also doing it in America. When the United States turned its back on Mexico with tariffs, China was there to offer to open factories. He is carrying out energy projects on American soil, he has interest in some of the strategic ports of the continent and is rolling out infrastructure, such as a railway line that, if completed, will link South America from east to west. The cable between Hong Kong and Chile is just one more piece of a puzzle that Beijing is weaving, which has already torn off with the works. And Washington only sees one thing: the wolf at the doors. In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it

We have been hearing talk for days about the “storm of the century”, this is what AEMET says about it (and about the trend of fattening meteorological headlines)

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It’s curious. A “storm of the century” concept has been around for days and, in the last hoursa date has even been set: February 25 would be the moment in which the storm would reach the country’s coasts. And I say that all this is curious because, in short, it is inaccurate, a ‘journalistic hook’: a lie after all. This 25th changes time, yes. But what the models describe is more like an Atlantic front (with rain in Galicia and some instability in the Canary Islands), than a truly exceptional episode. But let’s take a look because there are more things to take into account. What do the models say? That is the big question: AEMET and the rest of the specialized media draw a very different scenario. Galicia stands out with relevant accumulations (we are talking about 20–40 l/m² in the area from A Coruña to Pontevedra), but little else: in the rest of the areas where it rains, the quantities are much more discreet. In most places, almost testimonials. On the other hand, it is also possible that it will rain in the Canary Islands, but (unlike the peninsula) it will be a DANA in Morocco. And then? So, nothing. We won’t have big announcements; neither by winds, nor by rain, nor by coastal problems. AEMET is worriedYeah; but due to the persistent rainfall that may accumulate in the northwest. For the rest, if there is any news on the table, it is that a phenomenon that has been somewhat missing is going to return: the haze. There will be no “storm of the century” and that, of course, is excellent news. After all, we come from a winter that has been nothing more than a huge chain of storms. This has led to a whole process of social desensitization that is forcing popular meteorological information to raise the threshold until it borders on (or settles into) sensationalism. And it’s not the best time to do it: as AEMET itself points outit is possible that we are approaching a new era of precipitation in Spain. Climate change is increasing precipitation extremes globally. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to play ‘Peter and the Wolf’ just when things are starting to change. Image | Torsten Dederichs In Xataka | We already know exactly how much climate change was to blame for DANA in Valencia (and the figures are devastating)

already warns of a new storm on the horizon

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Times of wait of months to receive a car, manufacturers who packaged their vehicles loaded with options to sell them at a higher price with the promise that they would reach their customers sooner and a booming second-hand marketspurred on by the eternal wait to get a new car. They are echoes of a past that is just around the corner, chip shortage caused by the shutdown of factories during the Covid-19 pandemic, the increase in demand for electronic products and the trade war between the United States and China. The consequences were, as we say, diverse but above all harmful for who was waiting for a new car. From cars that arrived with hidden functions to vehicles that, directly, They dispensed with digital instrument panels. Factories stopped or at half gas that caused a 21% drop in world production vehicular. But no information or data summarizes the situation as well as a photograph. The one in which it was seen they visualized 45,000 Ford cars parked outdoors at Kentucky Speedway’s waiting for the necessary chips to arrive to put them on the street. Now, it is Ford that is already warning that a new crisis is on the horizon. AI, of course. We noted yesterday, January 17, that everything indicates that we can expect a long life of the latest generation consoles. Not because their hardware is about to explode or because intergenerational gaming continues to stretch to this day. The reason that will delay the arrival of the successors to the current consoles has a name and a surname: artificial intelligence. The problem is that 90% of world production DRAM is controlled by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. Three companies that have in their hands a demand that far exceeds them and that anticipates a productive shortage as a consequence of data centers for artificial intelligence that are sweeping the market. The problem is not only that the companies most interested in promoting artificial intelligence are securing components, the problem is that they pay better than anyone else. And that affects both the manufacturers and the consumerswho have seen a price escalation in components that seems to have no end. The latest alarm comes from Ford. Sherry House, CFO of the company, pointed out that, for the moment, they have enough components to carry out their production but that they are aware of the pressure on their price in the market. “And that is already part of our future plan,” House said in words reported by The Drive. The situation is dangerous. As happened years ago, market analysts already assure Bloomberg who are registering “panic buying”that is, mass purchases to guarantee stock before the component rises rapidly in price. These panic purchases have two obvious problems. The first is that the production of components is compromised. The second is the future price increase. At the beginning of the decade, we discovered the hard way how dependent the automotive sector is on chip production. In December 2023, Micron was already aiming because in just three years the presence of components such as RAM memories was going to triple, going from about 90 GB of memory on average to 278 GB in 2026. It must be taken into account that from May 2024 All cars sold as new in the European Union must have a powerful load of ADAS driving assistance systems. In China, the share of vehicles equipped with this type of aid has skyrocketedpartly due to the boost that BYD has given to the market guaranteeing advanced driving assistance services in lower priced vehicles. My colleague Javier Pastor explained Just a few weeks ago, infotainment systems have needed between 1 and 2 GB of DRAM in recent years to move the graphics own and support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. But the requirements have doubled in recent releases. And the proliferation of ADAS systems, increasingly complex in the most modern cars, does not help either. Only the Hardware 4 system (the one currently used by Tesla) makes use of 16 GB of RAM. He BMW iX3the company’s most advanced vehicle at the moment, boasted four “superbrains” inside, with chips dedicated exclusively to the vehicle’s dynamic functions, the ADAS systems and the management of the infotainment system. “A modern car makes use of so-called ECUs (Electronic Control Units) for issues such as controlling the transmission, the airbag system or the engine itself. It is normal for them to have between 50 and 150 of these control units or microcontrollers, and almost all of them contain RAM for temporary data and a ROM for the firmware and software.” The problem is deep because it affects all types of components. In October, The Nexperia crisis has already made the wolf see its ears. And it is not only a question of advanced infotainment or driving assistance systems for the most expensive vehicles on the market. The most basic functions of a car, such as rolling up the windows, They also need this type of componentswhich renders a vehicle unusable for the slightest problem. Photo | Ephrain Mairena and Aakash Malik In Xataka | The RAM crisis is so big that even companies that had nothing to do with it are considering manufacturing them. Like Tesla

a storm that aims to leave Twelfth Night under snow

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The weather models are slowly beginning to give us a vision of what is going to happen in these first days of January, and the reality is that we are already looking forward to a Three Kings’ night. with really low temperatures and even snow cover. Something that responds to the arrival of the storm Francisan anticyclonic block at high latitudes and an outbreak of continental polar air. The clash of masses. For a heavy snowfall to occur on the Iberian Peninsula, it is not enough for it to be cold, but humidity is also needed. That is why the scenario they propose GFS models and ECMWF for this January 2026 it is, technically, textbook. All this because an anticyclone has been installed in northern Europe and arctic areas, which forces very cold air to move south, directly towards Spain. While this cold settles on the peninsula, we must not forget about the storm Francis that enters from the southwest loaded with humidity. And when Francis’ humidity collides with the “wall” of frigid air already over the peninsula, a so-called “mass clash” occurs. This is where it turns into snow generally at very low levels. The AEMET. In his special prediction For these important dates, the meteorology agency indicates that this Friday the 2nd the rains will reach the Canary Islands and to the west of the peninsula. But it will be on January 3 when rainfall will be very abundant in western Andalusia, with snowfall at low levels in the north. But the truly interesting thing is between Sunday, January 4 and Tuesday, January 6, Three Kings’ Day, where heavy and persistent rains are expected in the south and east of the Peninsula. The highlight may be the snowfall in the eastern and central part of the peninsula, which the AEMET points out that can be important with a large drop in temperatures. Arrival of unusual snowfall. The “postcard” of Three Kings with snow is plausible in a good part of the country, although highly conditioned by the orography and some details of Francis’ career. In the south, for example, AEMET and local media report a drop in the snow level of up to 400 m in provinces like Granada either Malagawith minimums below 5 °C in capitals and negative values ​​in the interior, which opens the door to snowfall in areas where they are uncommon. In the center and east of the peninsula, the coldest scenarios place the level around 400–500 meters during January 4 and 5 and snow at medium or low levels in the southeastern quadrant, eastern Iberia, the east of the southern plateau or the Baetics; In the north and northwest, the posterior maritime polar mass keeps the snow in the mountains and could leave significant accumulations in systems such as the Montes de León. The American GFS model has come to propose for the Three Kings Day environment snow accumulations of more than 30 cm in the province of Toledo and greater than 40 cm in areas of Teruel, in a scenario of very extensive snowfall that inevitably reminds us of Filomena. A new Philomena? It’s an almost obligatory question. with the arrival of this storm, and although there are voices that affirm that we are going to face that, experts ask for caution to see how the predictions develop as the days go by. And the difference between a historic snowfall and an episode of cold rain depends on just a few kilometers in Francis’ trajectory. In this way, if the storm drops in latitude, cold air will dominate and snow could cover Madrid, the center of the peninsula or Granada. But if the storm moves north, the warm mass would win the battles and the snow would be restricted to mountain areas and medium elevations. Everything will depend on how the prediction develops in the coming days. The danger for horseback riding. With this forecast that we have on the table right now, the truth is that the cavalcades may have problems making their usual routes. Although it must be taken into account that these forecasts may change, not being truly 100% reliable until a few days before these dates arrive. After Three Kings Day. Once these dates pass, temperatures will begin to increase substantially. This way, starting January 6th Precipitation is expected to begin to lose intensity and extent in the southern areas, although it could still be locally strong in the Strait, while snowfall remains in the more mountainous areas. Images | AEMET In Xataka | La Niña is going to be meteorologically “less intense” than we expected. And that actually hides a problem.

We have a stationary high-impact storm at the gates of Spain. And that will translate into 30ºC in November

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We only have to look at a map these days to realize that we have a pretty significant storm heading our way. It will impact the entire western part of the peninsula and will leave more than 300 l/m2 on the Galician coast. However, it doesn’t seem like it. It doesn’t seem like it at all. But that’s how it is. Storm Claudia (which is the name of the third high-impact storm of the season) will bring rain and cold and wind; but just before that it will bring us a significant thermal rebound. Today, Wednesday, there are many areas of the country with 25 degrees and the nights will not be especially cold (it will not freeze anywhere). Bilbao is going to be 25 degrees and cities like Granada or San Sebastián are close to 30. How is it possible? Naturally, as explained in AEMETthe wind tends to leave the anticyclones and move towards the storms. “In this movement it suffers a deviation to the right of its trajectory so that the exit is not in a straight line but in a wide curve that rotates clockwise.” That is, storms rotate. When we talk about rivers of moisture (or connections with the Gulf of Mexico), we talk about this type of thing: air currents with a lot of humidity that are integrated into Atlantic storms thanks to this turn. The curious thing is that, in that turn, Claudia is pushing the southern air directly into Spain. AEMET What we can expect. Heat. At least, during Wednesday and throughout the country. During Thursday, the most classic effects of the storm (and that includes the cold) will begin to be seen in the west of the peninsula. We are talking about temperature drops of eight or ten degrees. For the weekend, most of Spain will have maximum temperatures below 15 degrees. And then the party begins. In a matter of hours we are going to see a lot of rain, a lot of wind and a considerable sea storm arrive in Spain. The first impact will be in the Canary Islands, but it will be the west of the peninsula the one who will bear the brunt: with winds of 110 kilometers per hour and accumulations of up to 350 liters. They are expected waves of up to four meters on the coasts of Galicia. Image | TropicalTidBits | SrGPicker In Xataka | It’s going to rain in Galicia. It seems normal but it is something more: the prelude to a total change in the weather in Spain

how it is formed, how it differs from a normal storm and how to act in one of them

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It rains in the Levant. Deluge. Injuries, dozens of homes flooded, infrastructure unusable, rivers overflowing. Deaths. As you may have seen, there are no links in the three sentences that head this paragraph. And it is not an oversight: there are no links because, sadly, they are not necessary. Every year, for too many now, the end of summer ends with torrential rains in the east of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. How is it possible that the same improvisation scenes are always repeated? Why are we not prepared for what, by all accounts, seems inevitable? What is a DANA and what should we know about them? Difference between DANA and cold drop POT Around 1886, a group of German meteorologists they started talking of kaltlufttropfen (‘cold air fall’). It may seem that ‘cold drop’ is a native and traditional way of calling certain types of meteorological events, but no. Our ‘cold drop’ comes directly from there: from a way to describe “cold air pockets” or stormy phenomena at altitude”. A description that is more than a century old. For this reason, there was a moment when the AEMET decided to start talking about Isolated Depressions at High Levels. The DANA concept is more current and, therefore, more accurate: it describes a cold depression at high levels, isolated from the main circulation, which generates instability by interacting with warm and humid air in lower layers. But, be careful, the change was not only due to a scientific issue. As the Agency itself recognized‘cold drop’ began to become synonymous with “catastrophic, intense and damaging rains, as well as highly dangerous meteorological situations.” And this is not always the case: we know for a fact that there are DANAs that cause absolutely nothing. It is something very similar to what he has done in recent days giving a proper name to dangerous DANAs. So for practical purposes, DANA is a more precise way than Gota Fría to talk about one of the most characteristic (and potentially dangerous) atmospheric phenomena of the Spanish autumn. How a DANA is formed The mechanism behind Isolated Depressions at High Levels is quite well known. At high levels of the atmosphere, the jet stream is disturbed, undulated, pinched. And finally, it comes off. That’s what we call an ‘isolated closed low’; that is, detached from the main flow. This low remains circulating independently and, when it interacts with areas of warmer and more humid air (for example, in the Mediterranean) it can generate vertical instability, intense convective attacks, deep clouds and torrential rains. Why DANAs are increasingly common in Spain The truth is that there is no consensus that DANAs are increasing in Spain. It is something that is being discussed; But there are indications that some factors are making the episodes more extreme. We talk about things like the Mediterranean being warmer than usual (a warmer sea contributes more water vapor to the air), the atmosphere also it’s hotter (and has more latent energy) and that the polar jet is becoming more erratic. All this means that even if the same DANAs occur as in previous years, the effects are much worse. Consequences of DANAs Manuel Pérez García and Estefania Monerri Mínguez. That’s where the problems begin. Although the effects may vary depending on intensity, duration and location, the fact that DANAs become more intense is what is making our lives difficult. And it is thatThe catalog of consequences is very extensive.. Flash floods, river flooding, dry riverbed overflows; damage to infrastructure (roads, bridges, urban drainage) and agricultural crops; very numerous human risks: trapped people, power outages, evacuations; and a high economic impact: reconstruction, insurance, losses in tourism or agriculture. DANAs and climate change As I said, there is no clear consensus about the appearance of more DANAs than normal. The IPCC reports, for example, do not state any of this; but yes the favorable conditions for extreme phenomena they increase. In fact, in the Mediterranean regions, warming scenarios foresee an increase in precipitation very intense in isolated events. In other words: as I have been arguing, the climate change It does not create more DANAs, but it makes them more dangerous and difficult to predict. DANAs in other parts of the world In the rest of the world, what we call ‘DANA’ is often called ‘cut-off lows’ and, indeed, they are very common in many parts of the world. This type of phenomenon is also observed in the USA, Australia and South America. However, it is something especially relevant in our country because our climate, the extremely warm sea and such abrupt relief They make isolated casualties our daily bread. Precautions before the arrival of a DANA That makes more relevant than ever the fact that be prepared. In that sense, there are a handful of: Consult official alerts: AEMET, public administrations and Civil Protection. Avoid driving on secondary roads, dry riverbeds and flood-prone tunnels. Do not cross watercourses. Seal or check drains, roofs and sewers to avoid backups. In houses, lift belongings from the floor if water is expected to enter. Take refuge in high areas. Have prepared a basic ‘survival’ kit: flashlight, radio, chargers, water, important documents. In short, the best defense against a DANA is accurate information, preparation and prudence. Image | The Tampa Bay Estuary Program In Xataka | What is cold drop, why it seems more intense than ever and why it is not correct to call it that

one thousand people trapped by a storm

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As much as we have touristifiedas much as we have accustomed to see their camps and slopes full of mountaineersEverest still is a resort. Today the planet’s summit is much more busy than in times of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (The pioneers who crowned the top in 1953), but the mountain is still a dangerous space full of challenges. And if we had forgotten Everest himself, he has just remembered us big. What happened? That Everest has just remembered own and strangers that it is not a tourist attraction, but a mountain with extreme climatic conditions that can be twisted at the most unexpected moment. That is at least what just learned the hundreds of mountaineers who were surprised on their slopes this weekend for an intense and copious snow. Snow was expected, but the intensity of the storm surprised even the most experienced, which forced the authorities to be launched to rescue the trapped groups. “The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never faced such a climate in October,” Explain a mountaineer affected. Where did it happen? On the eastern slope, where the blizzard caught hundreds of people in the camps. Chinese media talk about about a thousand Of affected, hundreds of hikers who were stranded by the storm that started on Friday at the last minute and lasted throughout Saturday. Other sources They point out that temporary surprised more than 500 people in the TINGRI region. And how are they now? According to The latest information Shared by Laura Bicker, a correspondent for the BBC, rescuers have already guided 350 people to a safe place located in the municipality of Qudang, on the Tibetan side. They have also managed to contact another 200 hikers. The British chain Precise That hundreds of villagers and rescuers have been deployed through the area to clear the access roads, blocked by snow, at an altitude of more than 4,900 m. It is not clear if the snowfall has affected hikers of the north face. How strong was it? “When we woke up, the snow already had about a meter deep,” Geshuang Chen recountswho on Friday had left Qudang with a group of more than ten mountaineers heading to the Base camp of Cho Oyu. On Saturday, however the storm frustrated its plans. “We are all experienced hikers, but even so this blizzard was extremely difficult.” Another mountaineer, Eric wen, has counted To the Reuters agency that his group could barely sleep because the snow fell so copious that they had to remove it from the covers of their stores every ten minutes. “If not, they would have collapsed.” Despite their care and equipment, three colleagues suffered hypothermia. How was it possible? For a sum of factors. The main is the meteorology. They have not been easy days in the region. To the south of Tibet, in Nepal, heavy rains have caused landslides and floods that, in addition to blocking roads, have left several deaths. In the last hours Europa Press He spoke Already 52 dead and 53 injured, in addition to a long dozen of missing. The other key factor is the festive calendar. China is in full Golden Weeka high season period for local tourism. “Many people come to do hiking, but this year snow is exceptional,” Chen points out. That coincidence of dates and climate explains that this week they arrive at the Karma Valley, which leads to the Eastern Kangshung face of Everest, hundreds of people. Why is it important? What happened this weekend at Everest is not important just because of the event itself. It is also (and above all) for what it reveals about the mountain and tourist saturation of Himalaya, a problem that experts They have been warning and of which the authorities They are aware. Some calculations estimate that every year they visit the Sagarmatha National Parkdominated by Everest, some tens of thousands of people that generate in turn 20 tons of garbage. In the mountain the challenge is so serious that the authorities They have already raised Forcing mountaineers to bring bags to collect their feces. Does so many people go to Everest? Yes. The problem of Everest Massification became especially palpable a few years ago, in May 2019when a Nepalese mountaineer took a photo in which more than 200 people are seen in a row in full rise to the roof of the world. A human traffic jam like the one we would expect to find ourselves in a commercial street in Madrid in full discounts … only in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Statista calculates that only in 2023 they were recorded 656 successful promotionsstill from the more than 800 from before pandemic. What happened this weekend reminds us that despite this enormous popularity and the growing massification of the mountain, even has increased ratesEverest is far (very far) from being a place for sports tourism to use. You don’t have to go very far to confirm it. In 2023 they disappeared Three Sherpas experienced in the Khumbu ice cascade, swelling the extensive list Dead and missing in the mountain. Images | Guillaume Baviere (Flickr), EMIFAULK (Flickr) and Statista In Xataka | To decongest Everest, Nepal allows you to access another 97 free peaks. The problem is that nobody wants to upload them

There is a perfect storm with AI and data centers. And it will cause the DRAM and Nand memories to become a luxury

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A remarkable rebound to the prices of NAND memories (used in SSD units) and the drams of our PCs and laptops is coming. For two years users We have benefited From a time of bonanza in these components, but that ends. And the AI ​​and fever has the fault to create more and more data centers. When the memoirs were cheap. In March 2023 The prices of the NAND and dram memories were falling to lead. The pandemia had caused an extraordinary demand, but once the confinement ended, the situation was invested. The manufacturers had produced too much – waiting for the demand to remain – and found an exaggerated inventory. People no longer wanted so many memory modules or so many SSD units, and prices collapsed. AI changes everything (and this, too). The effects of that imbalance have been extended for two years, but the arrival of Chatgpt caused a Fever by the AI ​​that has ended up causing another fever: that of the data centers. These facilities use thousands of GPUS and these GPUS make use of huge amounts of memory. Above all, HBM memories that Since its creation They were oriented to business applications: they were much more expensive, but also much more powerful. Price evolution of SSD Samsung 980 Pro of 1 TB. In mid -2023 the units raised their lowest price. From there, the price began to rise. Source: Camelcamelcamel. Price increases will go to more. SSD units such as Samsung 980 Pro of 1 TB are a good example of what is happening. In Camelcamelcamel We can see that evolution of prices that marks minimal in mid -2023 and then rise. These units have been replaced by the 990 pro of 1 TB with an evolution less pronounced in the increasestrue (in fact, it is around 100 euros, an interesting price), but everything indicates that this curve will soon follow the tendency of its predecessor. The forecasts of the Trendforce consultant are clear: the DRAM and NAND memories are going to climb a lot and very fast. And the DRAM memories will also go up. The prediction is the same for the DRAM memories market that, for example, are used in the DDR4 and DDR5 memory modules of our PCs and laptops. According to Trendforce In the third quarter of 2025 – which has just begun – we will see a rise of more than 40% in DDR4 memory modules. In the case of GDDR5 memories we will have a break and the climb will reach 8%. Most expensive pcs and gaming. This type of increases especially affects the end users who buy PCs and laptops to work, but also to play. Memory modules for graphics cards will also notice this quarter notably according to Trendforce. The GDDR6 memories will do it up to 33% and the GDDR7 up to 10% according to their estimates. HBM memories to power. Data centers that now all large technological ones are rushing to build need huge amounts of memory, and that is conditioning the balance between supply and demand both in the business market and in the market for end users. In fact, memory manufacturers are increasingly focusing on focusing production on HBM memories – used in AI accelerators – and leaving traditional DRAM and Nand memories. Micron points out that its production of HBM modules for all 2026 It is already soldand SK Hynix seems to be in a similar situation: the demand for these modules is extraordinary. The Raspberry Pi as an example. We are already seeing the consequences of this type of movements. The Raspberry Pi, who had gathered memory modules during the bonanza season, were forced to raise the prices of the new models a few days ago for the shortage of memory. Thus, the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and 5 in their 4 GB variants rose five dollars, and those of 8 GB rose 10 dollars. The company’s own CEO, Eben Upton, explained that “memory costs about 120% more than it cost a year ago.” Why not create more memoirs? The solution seems obvious: if more memories are needed, more factories should be created. However, manufacturers are reluctant to this for several reasons. The first, the enormous cost of these plants, which amounts to tens of billions of dollars. The second, that these factories take years in come to produce. And the third, who do not want there is a “AI bubble” and this explodes would make them meet again with an exaggerated inventory and some factories that they no longer need. Bad matter. Image | Samsung In Xataka | Samsung has its greatest competitor at home. His future with the chips depends on his rivalry with SK Hynix

A perfect storm is hitting wind energy in almost everyone. Less in China

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Wind energy has gone from being the great hope of Europe to be in the shadow of photovoltaic solar. Deserted auctions, paralyzed projects waiting for permits and bottlenecks in network connections are an increasingly common reality for the sector both in the old continent and in the United States. But in the midst of this perfect storm, an exception called China is able to completely distort global statistics. Wind in the West. Europe installed 16.4 GW of wind capacity in 2024, a figure lower than the expected Windeurope It attributes endless administrative delays and increasingly complicated financial conditions, especially for inflation in the supply chain. Projects Judicially blockeddeserted auctions … Nothing that the United States is not experiencing on the other side of the Atlantic. A few weeks ago, the US government canceled an investment of 679 million dollars to adapt the ports to the offshore wind industry, an infrastructure without which the huge components of marine wind turbines cannot be assembled or transported. Before, the Trump administration had paralyzed the construction of almost finished wind farms For the alleged espionage from China. Meanwhile, in China. If wind energy facilities grew 13% in 2024 it was almost exclusively thanks to Chinese demand. Excluding China from the equation, The market contracted 16%. Only Chinese manufacturers continue to beat orders records, and there are no signs that this will change this year. According to a Bloomberg reportChina monopolizes approximately 75% of all new offshore wind energy facilities in 2025. The Asian country dominates the world production of components and enjoys greater investments thanks to the agility of permits and financial support of the Communist Party, which establishes very low interest rates for these companies. A two -speed transition. The result is an energy transition that advances at radically different rhythms. While Europe and the United States collide with economic reality and government changes, China meets its objectives and almost completely dominate the supply chain. We are living The fastest energy change in historybut not all countries can advance at the same speed. This imbalance is also one of the reasons why Solar energy has eaten the ground to wind in pioneer regions in the sector, such as Europe. The installation of panels (most manufactured in China) is cheaper and more simple, both at the logistics level and permits, than the wind turbine industry that once Europe led. Image | Siemens Gamesa In Xataka | One of the most arid areas in China is reverde. The reason: a plant with seven million solar panels

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

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