The Pyrenees are warming up at cruising speed due to the climate crisis. The average temperature across the mountain range has increased by 1.9 °C since 1959, a figure that rises to 2.7 °C in the summer. This means that, since the mid-20th century, the Pyrenees have lost twenty frosty days per year and gained 32 summer days (days with temperatures above 25 °C). Or, in other words: every decade, 3 frosty days are lost and 4.9 summer days are gained.

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on the planet and is doing so at an unprecedented rate: up to four times faster on average than the rest of the Earth's land areas. And this has an enormous global impact because the ice in this ocean played a key role in regulating the Earth's climate, and it is now melting at an unprecedented speed. This is also changing the structure of the oceans, with a brutal impact on local communities and biodiversity.

"The Montreal Protocol agreed in the late eighties to reduce and eliminate gases that destroyed the ozone layer. All UN member states approved it, and agreed to end the use of these substances, which implied the change or elimination of products such as some aerosols or air conditioners. The result has been very satisfactory: the hole in the ozone layer is closing, and between the years 2040 and 2066 it will close completely. This can reduce global warming by up to 0.5 °C", remarked Xavi Segura, head of Meteorology at ARA, in the talk he gave in the majestic auditorium of the Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona, an activity of Club Prèmium open to all subscribers.

In a remote corner of the planet, just 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole and surrounded by ice, lies a kind of modern-day Noah's Ark, designed not to save animals, but to preserve the future of global agriculture. Buried beneath a mountain of ice in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, the vast global seed vault has become a silent symbol of resilience in the face of the global uncertainties of the 21st century. Designed to ensure the continuity of spices and plant-based foods in the event of a catastrophe, this biodiversity sanctuary receives samples of crops from all over the world. And now, finally, the olive tree is also part of this select group. Therefore, the future of this symbol of the Mediterranean landscape and culture is guaranteed.

Global warming is unstoppable, and in the last ten years it has accelerated significantly. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, published this Friday in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters. The study confirms that since 2015, global warming has increased by approximately 0.35°C per decade, compared to the slightly less than 0.2°C average per decade recorded between 1970 and 2015. This new rate of temperature increase is higher than in any previous decade since instrumental records began in 1880, leading the research group responsible for the study to conclude that the warming limits set for this century could soon be exceeded. "If the warming rate of the last ten years continues, it would lead to a long-term exceedance of the 1.5°C limit set in the Paris Agreement before 2030," warns Stefan Rahmstorf, a researcher at PIK and lead author of the study, in the article. "The rate at which the Earth continues to warm ultimately depends on how quickly we reduce global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels to zero," he states. According to Rahmstorf himself, the adjusted data show an acceleration of global warming since 2015 with a statistical certainty of over 98%. The researchers compiled the study using the five major global temperature datasets established worldwide (NASA, NOAA, HadCRUT, Berkeley Earth, ERA5). Interference from specific phenomena

"We can now demonstrate a strong and statistically significant acceleration of global warming since approximately 2015," says Grant Foster, a US statistician and co-author of the study. The data have taken into account "natural influences" that can interfere with and mask changes in the warming rate data, such as El Niño, solar cycles, and volcanic eruptions. According to Foster, this ensures that the long-term warming signal is "clearly more visible" and reliable. Taking all this into account, after correcting for the effects of El Niño and the solar cycle maximum, 2023 and 2024, which were exceptionally warm years, have turned out to be somewhat cooler than previously thought, but they remain the two warmest years since instrument records began. The study has confirmed that the acceleration of global warming began to become evident in 2013 or 2014. To determine if the rate of global warming has changed since the 1970s, the research team used two statistical tools. The first analyzes whether the temperature trend has been accelerating over time, and the second divides the data series into different periods to objectively detect any points at which the rate of warming changes. The study does not analyze the exact causes of this possible acceleration. However, according to the authors, current climate models already predict that the rate of warming may increase, so this behavior falls within the realm of what climate studies consider possible.

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The years between 2001 and 2020 were an intense period in terms of wildfires, forest pests, and strong winds. Before the end of the 21st century, these environmental disturbances could double in Europe, warns a study led by researchers from the Technical University of Munich and published in the journal ScienceWith the participation of Catalan organizations, including the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), the Centre for Forest Science and Technology of Catalonia (CTFC), and the University of Girona, the research has determined that this is the future awaiting the European continent if greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly reduced. "The doubling of disturbance rates corresponds to the worst-case scenario, that is, if nothing is done to stop these emissions," explains CREAF researcher and co-author of the study, Josep Maria Espelta, who adds that, if they are limited, "the increase in disturbances could be contained." The research indicates that the disturbances that will increase the most are forest fires and insect infestations, while windstorms will increase more slightly. "Phenomena such as fires and infestations are determined by similar causes, such as the increase in temperature, and are therefore closely linked to climate change," Espelta points out. In this regard, the study specifies that the annual burned area in Europe could triple by the end of the century, making some episodes currently considered extreme commonplace. Meanwhile, the insects expected to see the greatest increase are wood-boring beetles. "Higher temperatures shorten their life cycles, allowing them to complete more than one per year, and also enabling them to reach areas that were previously colder," explains the expert. This series of increases makes the phenomenon even more alarming considering it follows a period of already high fire disturbances. "We are comparing it with data from a very high rate, which makes it relatively more worrying," warns Espelta.

The research has worked with the three climate scenarios determined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and projected the evolution of forests from 2020 to 2100. According to the data, the Mediterranean region—which includes Catalonia—is among the most vulnerable areas, as nearly nine percent of its forests are susceptible to pests due to episodes of high warming. High temperatures, as the study details, weaken Mediterranean trees and favor pests such as bark beetles, which destroy the wood of the tree "to the point that it can die." At a European scale, fires and pests can lead to a reduction in old-growth forests, which are already scarce—representing 3% of the total area of ​​the Old Continent—while young forests, which have less capacity to absorb CO₂, increase. "It's a mechanism that accelerates this whole process, and that also represents a change at all levels of the European landscape," explains Espelta. The results were obtained assuming business-as-usual forest management practices. However, the researchers assert that adding climate change-adapted solutions will increase forest resilience: "We need to decarbonize society, and that means being less dependent on fossil fuels and more on clean energy." Espelta also emphasizes the importance of landscape management and promoting agroforestry mosaics. "We must become aware of these new scenarios and increase self-protection measures," concludes the CREAF researcher.

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The rainfall in the western Mediterranean during the first two months of this year has been a third more torrential compared to the period before the planet warmed by 1.3°C. This is the conclusion of a report published this Thursday by the international group of scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA), which analyzed the exceptional rainfall at the beginning of 2026 in northwest and southeast Spain, southern and northern Portugal, and northern Morocco. Specifically, the report concludes that in the southern regions, the increase in rainfall intensity has been 36%, while in the northern regions it has been 29%. Experts highlight the "unusual number" of storms and low-pressure systems that have affected the entire Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco during January and February, winter months that are typically dry in Spain. In this period alone, nine major storms have already hit, an extraordinary number. The study attributes this increase in extreme weather events to human activity, specifically carbon dioxide emissions. Experts combined observed increases with climate model simulations, and the results demonstrate that human activity is the direct cause of at least an 11% increase in rainfall intensity in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. "Weather patterns that were once more adaptable are now becoming more dangerous disasters, and that is exactly what climate change means, with increasingly intense and severe rainfall," explains David García García, one of the study's authors and a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering. The epicenter of the extraordinary rainfall of 2026 was the municipality of Grazalema, in Cádiz, where in just a few days the amount of rain that usually accumulates over an entire year fell, exceeding 2,000 liters per square meter and causing widespread damage. In addition to the exceptional and intense rainfall, the report also highlights the episodes of hurricane-force winds that the Iberian Peninsula has experienced in recent weeks. This highly unstable weather pattern, according to the same study, has resulted from several factors. One of them has been the presence of high pressure systems—anticyclones—over northern Europe, causing an atmospheric blocking pattern that has diverted the jet stream and the usual circulation of storms towards lower latitudes. But it's noteworthy that this series of storms has been "supercharged" by atmospheric currents that have brought significant moisture from a major marine heatwave in the western Atlantic. This combination, a consequence of global warming, has intensified rainfall events in our country.

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Did you know that the world's wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests? And that although they only cover 6% of the Earth's land surface, they harbor 40% of the world's biodiversity? This and much more is what is highlighted every February 2nd, World Wetlands Day. This date also reminds us of the urgent need to protect these fragile and often overlooked ecosystems. "People are guided by aesthetics, and a forest is more attractive than a wetland, which is often considered just a source of mosquitoes and bad smells," warns Margarita Menéndez, professor of ecology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona. This lack of "attractive" animals in our country—unlike the hippos we might find on a safari in Kenya—means we ignore a hidden biodiversity of amphibians, reptiles, and macroinvertebrates that are the true driving force of the global food web.

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Storms and heavy rain continue to batter the Iberian Peninsula this winter, and this week Andalusia is the epicenter of the storms. Provinces like Seville, Cádiz, and Córdoba are the hardest hit by the abundant rainfall caused by Storm [name missing]. Leonardowith exceptional rainfall totals. The worst affected area was the municipality of Grazalema, in Cádiz, where almost 600 liters per square meter fell in just 24 hours on Wednesday. This record figure for the area is very similar to the rainfall recorded during the historic and tragic DANA storm of October 2014 in Valencia. And all that water is also having consequences for the subsoil. Grazalema is located at an altitude of over 800 meters in the Sierra de Cádiz mountains, a geographically exposed area that is very rainy and receives nearly 2,000 liters per square meter annually. The problem is that this amount of rain, which usually falls over an entire year, has already been exceeded between January and the first days of February. This exceptional rainfall has completely saturated the subsoil. The ground can no longer absorb any more water, which is gushing out uncontrollably everywhere, even through electrical outlets, toilets, and walls of houses. And a phenomenon little known until now has occurred: hydroseisms.

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They say all young people want to be civil servants. Well, Maria Serra is proof to the contrary. An activist since before she was 17, she has mobilized against the climate crisis, for feminism, for Palestine, for housing. She was a spokesperson for Fridays for Future (FFF) in Spain and an ambassador for the European Climate Pact, until she decided she didn't want to represent a militarized EU and resigned. At just 23, she has been in international forums to defend ideas that many might see as radical and typical of youth, but which she defends with conviction, arguments, and a clarity that many politicians would envy.

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Grocery shopping isn't what it used to be. Prices have risen, and the products we expected to find aren't always available, or they aren't locally sourced even when they're in season. In fact, we may be more confused than ever about food seasons, not only because we've become complacent, but because they're becoming increasingly blurred. Behind it all is often climate change, which has already significantly disrupted our shopping habits and will do so even more, especially if the world continues to fail to take decisive steps to mitigate it. Now, raising awareness and taking action as consumers has become essential.

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Catalonia is now a warmer and drier country than it was 30 years ago, according to the Climate Atlas of Catalonia, an essential reference tool not only for meteorology and climatology enthusiasts, but also for many economic and social sectors that need to incorporate a climate perspective into areas such as agriculture and health, especially in this context. The headquarters of the Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition was chosen as the venue this Thursday to present the printed version of the Atlas, which covers the period 1991-2020 and provides a highly representative and well-defined picture of the changes that have occurred in the last three decades. Specifically, this document confirms that Catalonia has warmed by approximately one degree Celsius—a rate much higher than the rest of the planet—the semi-arid zone of the territory has expanded westward, and autumn has become the rainiest season across almost the entire region.

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The loss of glaciers worldwide is usually calculated in terms of square kilometers or ice volume. But each individual glacier, however small, is unique. "It might be a historical and cultural site, a tourist attraction, or a symbol of regional identity. Its loss might not impact sea levels or water resources, but it can have a very significant local impact," says researcher Lander Van Tricht of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). Some studies suggest that We have already lost 10% of the world's glaciers due to the climate crisisNow Van Tricht is leading a study, published this Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, which predicts the number of glaciers that will be lost this century based on various degrees of global warming.

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"I will create two roadmaps, one to halt and reverse deforestation, and another for a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels." The president of the UN climate summit, COP30, Brazilian André Correa do Lago, drew a standing ovation during the summit's final plenary session when he made this announcement. But not everyone was happy. This was the solution Correa himself found to get the final COP30 text approved, the so-called Mutirão (collective effort in Brazilian Portuguese), without mentioning that 82 countries were demanding a "roadmap" to end the fossil fuels that have generated the climate crisis we are experiencing.

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The climate crisis is causing economic and human losses worldwide, and behind it lie slow, invisible, and often difficult-to-quantify changes. With the aim of providing a comprehensive overview of the consequences of the climate emergency and highlighting the importance of adaptation and mitigation policies, the Climate Risk Index, published annually by the independent organization Germanwatch, reports the economic losses caused by extreme weather events in the twenty countries most affected by this problem. To coincide with COP30 in Belém, the creators of this index have released their assessment of the damage documented in 2024, and it includes a new finding that directly affects us: Spain has entered the ranking of the twenty countries most affected by the climate crisis in the world for the first time. In fact, it is the only European country represented on this list, sharing positions with countries such as the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean nation of Grenada, Chad, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. The list also includes Nepal, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Chile. The statistics implemented by Germanwatch analyze the consequences of five specific extreme events: droughts, floods, heat waves, storms, and fires. It also includes a sixth indicator representing other impacts such as cold waves, melting ice, and landslides. According to the calculation, all these events have caused a loss of €192.352 billion this year in the twenty countries most affected by the climate crisis.

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Eighty-two countries are calling for a global roadmap to phase out oil, gas, and coal. Representatives from all these governments have joined forces to lobby at the UN Climate Summit. COP30, which is being held these days in the Brazilian Amazonand have demanded that the final text of the meeting include this commitment. A first draft of the summit's final text, called Mutirão (what does it mean community effort (in Portuguese), which includes a possible commitment to the phase-out of fossil fuels, but is still too open-ended.

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Deforestation is a striking image when seen from the air. The continuous green of the forest ends abruptly, severed by a cruelly straight cut, leaving only barren land. From a bird's-eye view, the visual impact is devastating and helps to capture the tragedy of the destruction of tropical forests. Drones used by Reuters photographers Adriano Machado and Ueslei Marcelino have revealed this deforestation in a southern region. from the AmazonIn the Brazilian state of Rondônia, the destruction even affects part of a protected indigenous territory, that of the Kaxarari people.

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The European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program is launching a second satellite for its Sentinel-6 mission this Monday to collect data on ocean temperatures, particularly those of the Mediterranean Sea, which is warming twice as fast as the global average. The new satellite, named Sentinel-6B, incorporates a sensor that measures, among other things, sea level rise, one of the consequences of the climate crisis caused by warming waters and the melting of the polar ice caps, which is now considered irreversible. This instrument is the Poseidon-4 radar altimeter, which is also present on its predecessor, Sentinel-6A, launched in November 2020, but will add precision to the collected data. The new launch will take place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (United States). "Thanks to the development of new data processing algorithms, we have increasingly precise information about sea level, which helps us better understand how climate change affects us," explains Mónica Roca i Aparici, former president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and current CEO of isardSAT, the Catalan space technology company that designed the data received from these two satellites. This satellite will also help to better observe and predict extreme weather events and flooding—especially on the coast—resulting from global warming. The Copernicus oceanographic mission provides essential, high-precision data for monitoring the impacts of the climate emergency on the sea. Satellite monitoring of this variable began in 1991 with the ERS-1 mission (1991-2000) and continued with several more missions. Multiple satellites monitor various ocean characteristics, and Sentinel-6 is specifically responsible for measuring sea level.

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It's the heart of autumn, and forests across the country have been displaying the classic and spectacular yellow, red, and orange hues of this time of year for weeks. But the colors of autumn are arriving later and later in our country due to the effects of the climate crisis, according to a study by Meteocat published this Friday based on data from the Phenological Network of Catalonia (Fenocat). The report concludes that the change in leaf color of deciduous trees is being delayed by an average of 2.1 days per decade in Catalonia. The study focused on the beech tree, which is particularly colorful at this time of year. In fact, beech forests attract thousands of visitors every autumn because of their spectacular display. Data indicates that some beech forests are experiencing a delay in leaf color change of up to 3 or 4 days per decade, such as those found at Roca Tiraval in Bagà (Berguedà) or Castellterçol (Moianès). This shortening of the natural period puts these trees at risk in the future.

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The European Union and the United States have burned more fossil fuels in 2025 than the previous year and have increased their CO₂ emissions, contrary to the downward trend of the last two decades. This is revealed in the annual Global Carbon Budget 2025 report, an analysis of CO₂ emissions prepared by the Global Carbon Project, which is being presented on the occasion of the Brazil climate summit, COP30, and which, for the first time, projects emissions for 2025. According to the study, the world as a whole will emit 1.1% more CO₂ in 2025 than in 2024, continuing the upward trend in global emissions, which are expected to reach at its peak before 2030 if we want to keep global warming below 1.5°C as called for by the Paris Agreement.

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