2024 is on track to become the hottest year since humans have been keeping track, beating out 2023. The extraordinary back-to-back record-breakers amplified disasters like heat waves, hurricanes, and torrential downpours around the world, claiming thousands of lives and causing billions in damages. Few countries have emerged completely unscathed over the past two years, but one place known for its welcoming climate, was especially wounded. In 2023, Spain experienced a searing early-season heat wave with temperatures topping 101 degrees Fahrenheit in Córdoba in the south of the country, followed up by more severe heat across the country in July and August. It led to more than 8,000 heat-related deaths, the second-highest toll in Europe behind Italy. The high temperatures worsened an ongoing drought, depleting water supplies and causing its economically vital olive oil production to fall in half. Intense wildfires ignited across the country, including the Canary Island of Tenerife and on the mainland in Gandia. The Asturias region in northern Spain suffered the single-largest wildfire in its history, torching more than 24,000 acres. Record rainfall in Toledo triggered flash floods that killed at least three people.Dangerous heat, fire, and drought continued to rage this year. But in October, Spain experienced a disaster that still managed to shock the climate change-wracked country.The Valencia region in eastern Spain suffered an unprecedented downpour, receiving a year’s worth of rain in just a few hours. It triggered flash floods across a vast expanse and killed at least 224 people, making it the deadliest flood on the continent since 1967. And warming clearly played a role: Climate research groups reported that these storms were stronger and more likely to occur due to warming caused by humans. “It was mostly a surprise. We started seeing it in the news, huge floods, cars floating,” said Marcos Masa, 19, a university student in Valencia region. “The first reports were about 10 deaths. It was already too much. We never expected to get to 200 [deaths].”In the aftermath, locals directed their outrage at local officials and the national government, which they blamed for what they saw as delayed, inadequate warnings and a botched response. Spain’s military mounted one of its largest peacetime operations in its history to assist with the recovery effort, but it came days after the rainfall had stopped. Tens of thousands of Valencia residents joined protests and called for Carlos Mazón, the regional leader for Valencia, to resign. When Spain’s king, queen, and prime minister visited one of the flooded towns, locals threw mud at them. Spain’s 47 million residents and 95 million annual tourists have long savored Spain’s ordinarily nice weather, but the disasters over the past two years illustrate that it’s not something anyone can take for granted. The recent catastrophes didn’t just claim lives and destroy homes; they shook the c
Mar. Dic 24th, 2024
