A significant group of scientists –in both quantity and quality–, accompanied by a series of names from civil society, has signed an open letter to the governments of the two Generalitats (those of Catalonia and Valencia) alerting them to the need to take measures in the face of the threat from the meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño. This letter is part of the international campaign Alert El Niño, and whoever takes the trouble to read it will realize that there is little room for personal opinions, and even less for table or bar-side discussions. Clearly and concisely, the letter sets out what El Niño is, what its causes are, why this time it is more dangerous than on any other occasion, and what its consequences could be. It is not about creating alarmism, but about becoming aware of the reality of our natural environment, which of course has and will always have primacy over any other consideration. We are in the middle of the Mediterranean, one of the areas of the planet where climate change has a stronger and faster impact. In addition to awareness, the letter urges those in government to take the measures that are within their power to take: some are for immediate application, others are for the medium term, but all are necessary. The authority and prestige of the scientists who have signed the letter (such as CSIC researcher Jordi Solé or Physics doctor Olga Alcaraz) make it a document that must be taken very seriously.

"Prepare our country for the worst while we are still in time to prevent the worst from becoming a catastrophe." This is the cry of nearly 700 people, including scientists, science communicators, researchers, civil society, and public figures in an open letter addressed to the Government—and to the Generalitat Valenciana—in which they request action before El Niño arrives, a climate phenomenon originating in the Pacific Ocean that is characterized by a large release of thermal energy into the atmosphere and which can lead to practically unprecedented downpours. Researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Jordi Solé and UPC professor and Doctor of Physics Olga Alcaraz warned this Tuesday that El Niño will create another layer of heat in a Mediterranean that, as we have seen in recent weeks with exceptional rainfall, is already extremely hot.

Extreme temperatures have long since ceased to be an exception and have become a recurring threat to health. Now the arrival of a super-El Niño could exacerbate this trend and cause 451,000 additional heat-related deaths worldwide over the next six months, according to an estimate by the Climate Impact Lab, a research group linked to the University of Chicago.

The world knew that the next El Niño would be powerful, but this Thursday, forecasts confirmed that this climatic phenomenon will be of great intensity and will have unpredictable consequences. The UN warns that the peak of this episode will be experienced at the end of 2026, but that it will extend until 2027, a year that could become the warmest recorded to date.

The first thing Adrià Plana, a dermatology specialist at Germans Trias Hospital, makes clear about the frequency with which children should shower is that scientific evidence is scarce. Studies on bathing practices, he points out, are very complex to conduct, which is why, often, "the recommendations we make as dermatologists and pediatricians are based more on theoretical assumptions and our cultural heritage than on firm scientific evidence." Broadly speaking, he adds, what we could say is that bathing cleanses, eliminates microorganisms from the skin, and also eliminates some of the fatty acids found in the skin and hair. This, the dermatologist warns, causes the skin "to have a lower bacterial load and be cleaner, but it also causes the skin to dry out because there is an increase in transepidermal water loss."

Emergency teams are looking for an 8-year-old boy who disappeared this afternoon between Segarra and Solsonès. The child was at a holiday camp at Casa Auró Natura de Llanera, in the municipality of Torà, when he was last seen. Authorities were notified of his disappearance at 3.30 pm.