The planet continues to warm, and indicators of climate change show an increasingly worrying situation. The global average temperature between January and September 2026 stood at 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels, according to the update of the State of the Global Climate report published this Monday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), coinciding with the start of COP31 in Turkey. A figure that could still increase further by the end of the year, with the possibility of exceeding the fateful 1.5°C of warming. The organization also warns that the exceptionally intense El Niño episode currently underway may aggravate the warming and extreme weather events well into 2027.

With the price of oil skyrocketing due to the conflict in Iran and deadly heat waves and floods the order of the day, the world's governments should be focused on the fight against the climate emergency and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. But, paradoxically, this year's UN climate change summit, COP31, which kicks off this Monday in Turkey, is shaping up to be one of the most inconsequential and least productive of all those held so far. The Turkish government shares the presidency of the summit with Australia's (it was the consensus solution they found because both countries wanted to host the summit) and, in an attempt to offer some tangible result from the meeting, proposes including in the final agreement a commitment to reach 35% electrification by 2035 globally (we are currently at 23%).

'Fungarium', Katie Scott and Ester Gaya (Símbol, 2020)

Although in Catalonia we are great fans of mushrooms, humans know very little about fungi. In fact, we only know 5% of the millions of fungal species (from 2.2 to 3.8 million) that are estimated to exist on Earth. Fungarium aims to be an introductory guide to the knowledge we have of the Fungi kingdom and its relevance to ecosystems. Intended for a young audience, it is part of the Welcome to the Museum collection, which is characterized by presenting large-format books that simulate a visit to a museum. With a carefully crafted edition, it features descriptions of high rigor and scientific level for each of the species exhibited in its pages. The texts are accompanied by naturalist illustrations of great beauty and detail.

A total of 109 companies and entities have contributed measures for more than a year to combat the climate crisis in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The proposals, within the framework of the so-called Climate Chapter of the business association Barcelona Global, were presented this Wednesday at the headquarters of the consulting firm EY in Barcelona. The report includes cases such as the manufacturing of a new Barcelona paving stone with 47% fewer emissions and 40% recycled aggregates by Sorigué, BSM (Barcelona de Serveis Municipals) parking lots converted into hubs with about 600 electric car charging points, or surplus fruit from Mercabarna that reaches social entities.

French health authorities confirmed this Thursday the death of a man infected with the Shamonda virus, a pathogen transmitted mainly by mosquitoes to cattle, sheep, and goats, which until now was considered to have a low infection capacity in humans. In fact, this is the first documented and reported detection of this emerging disease in humans.

This past week the Generalitat has announced that it will take charge of 75 million euros of the costs caused by the recent torrential rains. The figure is a small sample of the constant drip of public spending caused by the effects of the ecological crisis. But the climate problem does not only affect the public treasury, it also entails an economic drain for families and insurance companies. To know the monetary impact of these phenomena, the European Environment Agency has compiled the annual losses that extreme weather phenomena have meant in the European Union (EU). Although the economic figures only take into account direct expenses – for example, those registered by governments and insurers – and not indirect ones, the data are implacable.

Raymond T. Pierrehumbert (United States, 1954) studies the most extreme climates in the Universe, those of distant planets where it rains glass or that of gaseous worlds where the daytime temperature is so high that the molecules of the atmosphere break down into atoms. Also that of Earth, both the current one and the one from 4.5 billion years ago. This perspective allows him to put into context to what extent the pale blue dot on which we are lucky to live is exceptional – and at the same time fragile. Professor of planetary physics at the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he is one of the most recognized specialists in climate crisis. He has visited the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona to convince us that we must reduce CO₂ emissions to zero. Because there is no other option.

Although there are more satellites orbiting the planet continuously sending high-resolution images and atmospheric data, radars that detect precipitation in real time, meteorological stations, rain gauges, radiosondes, and supercomputers capable of performing calculations on a scale unthinkable just a decade ago, it is still difficult to know exactly if a strong storm will unleash, where and when it will do so, and how much rain it will leave.

Catalonia is experiencing a very rainy start to the month of October on the coast and pre-coastal areas, where water accumulations are in some cases extraordinary. In autumn it is normal for it to rain heavily, but the magnitude of the episodes that are taking place and their torrential nature are at a level rarely seen. These are the effects favored by the climate crisis and the warming of the sea. However, this Monday's downpours stood out because the forecasts did not indicate that it would rain so much.

We are in a global climate crisis. Planetary warming is not stopping. The struggle of the inhabitants of the Earth is life or death... But in a tiny corner of this overpopulated globe, in southern Europe, there is a small country whose inhabitants, stubborn, are not willing to change their lifestyle to contribute to saving humanity. They refuse to have their landscapes stained with windmills and solar panels. They make many excuses, some apparently –locally– reasonable. But the result is that they continue to burn large quantities of oil and consume gas, and they have no choice but to extend the life of their dilapidated nuclear power plants, which is not recommended at all.

There is an invisible line connecting the holm oak forests of the Castanya valley, in Montseny, with the offices of Canberra and the UN climate summits. This line is the trajectory of Pep Canadell (Sabadell, 1961). Trained at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) under the tutelage of Jaume Terradas –a direct disciple of Ramon Margalef himself–, he has dedicated his life to building an international scientific alliance capable of putting indisputable figures to the CO₂ that we dump on Earth. After an extreme summer that has once again melted thermometers in Europe, the scientist speaks to ARA from Australia, via video call. Despite being a world authority on climate, he keeps the spirit of that field student intact: he speaks plainly, avoids arrogance, and never tires of reminding us that the Earth is not an inert machine, but a living organism that is beginning to show signs of exhaustion. He has just been recognized with the 22nd Ramon Margalef Award in Ecology 2026, which is awarded annually by the Government of Catalonia.

The general debate of the 81st United Nations General Assembly runs the risk of becoming a mere stage for an increasingly unilateral world. But, paradoxically, it is the only stage that continues to exist so that the 193 countries that are part of it can make themselves heard. Even if it is to threaten the "annihilation" of the other, to make warmongering proclamations of "not bowing one's head" or to attempt to whitewash a genocide.

The rise in temperatures in Catalonia has been unstoppable for some years, but there are areas where the effects of warming are especially significant. This is the case for the mid-altitudes of the Pyrenees. In this area located between 1,500 and 2,200 meters above sea level, the maximum temperature has risen by 1.8 ºC in just the last 24 years. A thermal increase that is even more notable regarding minimum temperatures, where the increase has been 2.1 ºC in the same period of time.

The planet has been spending its freshwater reserves for a decade. This is warned by the report on the state of global water resources from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published this Thursday. The study concludes that the storage of continental water – in groundwater, rivers, lakes, soil, vegetation, snow, and ice – has maintained a downward trend since the 2014-2016 period. And it is not just a question of drought: the water cycle is becoming increasingly irregular, with alternating periods of lack and excess.

The effects of climate change are making extreme weather events more frequent and intense. In Catalonia, this autumn will be marked by extreme rainfall fueled by this summer's temperatures, which have left a thermal anomaly of four degrees above average in the sea water temperature. For this reason, the Civil Protection of the Generalitat has issued a warning about the risks that sudden and intense downpours can entail. The administration has called for caution and is also considering using ES-Alert messages when there are episodes of unforeseen torrential rain to warn of potential damage.

Until now, Denmark has been a country recognized for its prestigious interior design firms, its pioneering commitment to sustainability and renewable energy, and for hosting some of the best haute cuisine restaurants in the world in the city of Copenhagen. Probably, when we think of a Scandinavian country, the first image that comes to mind is not that of tasting a glass of wine produced in a local winery. However, due to the effects of climate change, the countries of northern Europe are gaining prominence in wine production, where they see that they have a promising future.This is the case for Danish viticulture, which in the last five years has experienced a notable qualitative leap, driven by a handful of daring and visionary producers pushed by curiosity, who for the first time are managing to produce high-quality wines. This is reaffirmed by the journalist and wine critic for the Danish newspaper Politiken, Thomas Ilkjær, who asserts that the Danish wine sector “is today at a very exciting moment”. 10 years ago, wine production in cold climates like Scandinavia was considered a losing bet, but now the sector is in turmoil: “I believe that in 50 years we will look back and see that we are at the exact moment when everything began to grow,” says Ilkjær.Until now, the long, cold, and dark winters typical of the latitude of the Nordic countries had been the main obstacle to wine production. But global warming has caused the producing countries of southern Europe to face overripe grape berries with a high alcohol content, while Denmark has opened the door to the production of wines "with a marked acidity, a lot of minerality, and great freshness," asserts Ilkjær, a fact that is increasingly convincing gastronomic critics and restaurateurs.Regarding the number of Danish wine producers, in the last two decades it has gone from 10 to 150 professional wineries (with more than 1,000 amateur winegrowers) and new ones emerge every year. This has meant that in just six years the production of Danish wine has tripled and the sector is clearly on the rise. All this, despite the fact that Denmark's history as a wine-producing country only began in the year 2000, when the commercial cultivation of vineyards was approved under European Union regulations.According to the University of Copenhagen, the area dedicated to vineyards in the Nordic country is 250 hectares, of which 90% produce wine certified as organic. But although the production of Danish wine has increased and the quality has improved, the wine industry is still in its early stages, especially if we compare it with other countries like Catalonia, where there are 55,000 hectares of vineyards planted.In our country, a trend among Catalan wine producers to overcome the challenges of heatwaves and unpredictable weather is to relocate wine production by seeking cooler climates, for example by cultivating vineyards on higher mountain slopes, such as in the Pyrenees. In this sense, Danish producers feel they have the effects of climate change in their favor, as climatological studies predict that within 50 years the climatic conditions of the Nordic country could resemble areas of northern France or the Champagne region, with a cool climate, abundant rain, sporadic spring frosts, and warmer summers.Even with the clear effects of global warming, it does not mean that it is now easy to produce wine in Denmark, but "climate change has made it possible, or at least it has helped to improve the quality of the wines," says Ilkjær. Currently, the growing season in the Nordic country begins in April and the harvest does not take place until October, when the grapes have already ripened. During these months, the average temperature is about 13 degrees, an increase of 0.8 degrees compared to the 1960-1990 period. Regarding this, it is estimated that sunshine hours have increased by 15% on average, a decisive factor for producing wine. However, "we still have a cool climate, with the risk that some years it may be practically impossible to make wine, therefore, it is a challenge that one cannot fully rely on the climate, and this makes it difficult for producers to risk everything in a business as uncertain as wine production in Denmark," asserts Ilkjær.Most of the vineyards in Denmark are located no less than 10 km from the Baltic Sea and North Sea coast, spread across the country, from the Jutland peninsula to the island of Bornholm. The most used variety for white wine production is Solaris, appreciated for its resistance to cold weather, as well as for its early ripening capacity. Regarding red wines, the Rondo variety stands out especially, widely spread in Germany and the south of England. But if Danish wines are achieving greater projection it is thanks to the production of sparkling wines, which already represents nearly 20% of the country's total production.“A dream and a challenge to make wine here”

Amidst a green landscape, winding roads that cross small villages, and ancient stately castles, the island of Funen (Fyn) holds a postcard charm. In this bucolic location lies the By Stokkebye estate, a family winery that produces 20,000 bottles of one of the country's most prestigious sparkling wines each year. “It all started as a hobby in 2009”, for me it was like a dream and a challenge to be able to plant wine here, but I was sure I could achieve it, says Jacob Stokkebye, who runs the winery together with his wife, Helle. However, the path was not easy, and in the beginning, they had to throw away the wine because the quality was not good enough. This led Jacob to seek advice from French wine producers, who have helped him craft a wine inspired by the traditional champagne method.Today, the winery is one of the few that chooses to plant the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties, even though they are less adapted to the rainy climate and frozen winters: "Part of our success is that we are located next to the sea where the wind always blows, this helps to dry the rain from the vineyard quickly," says Jacob.

Drought is not just a problem at home: it is a phenomenon that has increased by 30% since 2000 worldwide. In fact, it is estimated that by 2050, three out of every four inhabitants of the planet will be affected by drought. Even so, the United States has blocked a global agreement against drought and has postponed international negotiations on this issue until 2028. All the world's governments gathered in Mongolia this August have not managed to sign a binding treaty in this regard, but they have announced that they will mobilize 1.3 billion dollars to restore land and combat desertification in 23 states. The protocol to finance these projects, however, was to be defined within this global agreement against drought, which has been left pending.

Market logic justifies that what is only within reach of a few generally increases its value. This dynamic that sets the price of goods and services also infiltrates human behaviors, which end up conditioning decision-making. But what happens when what is at stake is an element on which the daily lives of citizens depend? The tension between the desire to collect travel experiences and to ensure the lives of the population of a vulnerable territory is what highlights the dynamics of tourism in the midst of an ecological crisis.Already in 2007, the award-winning editor-in-chief of the digital publication Travel Age West, Kenneth Shapiro, gave a name to a tourism phenomenon that was then beginning to proliferate: last-chance tourism. At that time, the concept referred to trips to areas threatened by environmental changes, such as the imminent threat of a volcano eruption or an expedition to observe an endangered species, among others. Over the years and with scientific evidence that the ecological crisis affects every corner of the planet, this word used in the jargon of travel agencies and nomadic gurus has undergone some nuance. Now, last-chance tourism is also the experience of visiting destinations that are at risk of disappearing or radically changing in the coming years due to damage caused by human pressure. Examples include visiting Australia's Great Barrier Reef, due to ocean acidification and rising water temperatures; or the Maldives islands, due to rising sea levels.Living between the thaw and the AMOC

But there is no need to change continents to observe the loss of ecosystems in areas where tourism plays a significant role. “In Iceland, the most evident change at first glance caused by the climate crisis is the retreat of glaciers. It is something that can be perceived even when comparing photographs taken just a few days or weeks apart,” explains Catalan photographer Natàlia Antequera, who lived in this Nordic country from 2021 to 2024. The Arctic is the region in the world suffering the highest temperature increase and, as a result, causes Iceland to lose 10 billion tons of ice per year, according to NASA data.At this rate, the European island could run out of ice by the year 2200. In nature's balance, every element plays its part, and melting is not only a sign of collapse in itself, but also a trigger. Specifically, in recent years, Nordic countries have been suffering from the stoppage of the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation), the part of the thermohaline circulation that passes by the Icelandic coasts and plays a key role in regulating the climate in the Northern Hemisphere. This danger prompted the island's government to declare the AMOC a national threat last November, becoming the first European state to take this stance.

El Niño is already a reality. It has been developing for months in the Pacific Ocean with a constant warming of subtropical waters, and from the outset it has been labeled a super-Niño, as the oceanic temperature anomaly is the highest recorded to date. The latest data indicate that these waters have exceeded 4 ºC above the average, a value never seen since records began.

Even in the middle of the morning, the activity at the Blanes fishermen's guild is frantic: a coming and going of boxes full of anchovies and sardines, and mullets and other fish, arriving at this Girona fish market for auction. Unaware of this hustle and bustle and sheltered under the jetties, about forty individuals rest, impassive, in enormous water tanks. Some have only been here a short while and are recovering, waiting for their moment to come. Others are already prepared and will return to the sea soon.