Weather incidents

1995/04/01 Aizpurua Sarasola, Joxerra Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Klima
• Ingurumena

Last February, while at a gas station in Pamplona, my employee told me: “The temperate temperature we have is not normal, there is no snow at the ends of the surrounding mountains, no doubt the weather has changed.”

This type of news is being received uninterruptedly from television, radio and newspapers. In addition, according to many, the Dutch floods and the drought and desertification of Southeast Spain only confirm the above.

“Elhuyar. In issue 69 of the magazine “Zientzia eta Teknika” the details of the greenhouse effect were analyzed. From the analysis of the data that existed until then, some possible consequences were commented, such as the increase in sea water level, climate change in some areas of the world and the enormous growth of plants by the increase of photosynthesis.

In any case, the conclusions referred to in that article were the XXI. We placed them in the 19th century. So, has climate change advanced us? It can be said that the foundations of climate change are becoming stronger, especially because there are no plans to curb carbon dioxide emissions.

However, climate changes are not immediate and if the most noteworthy thing is the increase of some gases in the atmosphere due to the combustion of fossil fuels among the triggers, some climate-related problems may have other considerations.

In the Netherlands there are many lands earned by dikes and walls. Therefore, the height of a part of the Dutch land compared to sea level is zero, so the runoff time of rainwater is higher than in other areas. For many years there have been no problems, but the Dutch know that they have to pay from time to time the dismantling tax to the sea.

In South America and Southeast Asia, there are strong climate changes. In the tropical countries of these areas, along with wild rains, there are waves of great drought.

According to recent studies, these climate changes are associated with an event in the marine waters of western Peru. This fact is known as “El Niño”. Every seven years the local waters heat up, impoverishing nutrient-rich water. Plankton production decreases considerably and thus fishing. It usually lasts a year, but sometimes it lasts longer than expected. In this century it has lasted three times to three years.

It has occurred in the last decade and it is estimated that the consequences have been greater than in Peruvian fishing. Coastal storms and breaks in Peru and Ecuador, droughts in northeastern Brazil and Indonesia, fires in Sydney and rains and floods in western Europe last year are considered related to “El Niño”.

The deserts that are occurring in some parts of the Mediterranean, in some cases, are related to the cultivation of some crops. As EVD greatly promotes citrus production, farmers are increasingly turning to intensive crops. In the winter area trunks are often watered to prevent the freezing of oranges. The water necessary for this function comes out of the subsoil, but since the water that comes out of the subsoil is greater than the one that recovers the land itself, the sea water is penetrating more and more in the water table. As a result, the lands are leaving and being useless for the harvest. Desert lands can alter the climate of these areas.

It is observed that in climate change, along with pollution factors, there are human habits in the cultivation of land and unknown natural factors. Natural factors, depending on their frequency, can be analyzed using computer bases and can be advised both on the conclusions obtained and on the products planted and the number of products, so that if a drought period is expected, farmers can be advised a type of harvest and if a rainy season is expected another type of harvest.

With these arguments we do not want to underestimate the responsibility for pollution, but to broaden the vision of the problem. In addition, it is more appropriate to talk about the microclimate than to take it in the general climate, since the changes take place.

In order for the analysis to be as direct as possible, together with the consideration of the local climate, a relatively broad time must be taken into account.

Therefore, the summits of the Pamplona gas station that he saw in March were snowy and he would realize that it was in front of the traditional winter. The floods in Holland are almost forgotten and in a couple of decades of security nothing happens. To the southeast of Spain will continue to burn forests and planting more and more oranges...