In the middle of the summer holidays, there are many Spaniards who have decided to take shelter from the heat that shakes our country by traveling to coastal areas. These days are being especially hot in our country, and as the experts explain, this severe heat will become commonplace in the coming years. One of NASA's most important scientists, Carlos del Castillo, who is dedicated to climate change, warns that our country will overcome the 50 degree barrier, as has already happened in parts of Asia and Africa. This is all due to global warming.
Until now, the official record for the maximum temperature recorded in Spain is 47.6 °C, and it was recorded during the intense heat wave that hit the country in August 2021. "Yes, during heat waves, it is plausible that we reach those temperatures (50 degrees Celsius), we continue with the stove on and the temperatures will continue to rise," explains Del Castillo, head of the oceanic ecology laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in a few statements collected by Cadena SER.
And it is that these high temperatures would be due to a specific fact, which Carlos has explained in the statements collected by the aforementioned medium. "These are greenhouse gas emissions, and we continue to emit more gases into the atmosphere. That is why there is no reason to think that temperatures will not continue to rise," he says. In addition, the expert assures that extreme heat in Spain will continue to increase if governments do not drastically reduce emissions from fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal.
The excessive consumption of these fuels would only continue to worsen the situation, causing more heat waves. "There will be more heat waves and temperatures will continue to rise as we have already seen in these months that have been very warm," says the specialist. In addition, Del Castillo assures that this climate change will not only affect the summer season, but that the winters could also be harsher.
The expert warns that snowfall in Spain may be more intense during the winter period, since "the amount of water vapor is increasing due to the growth in the rate of evaporation of seawater and this can turn into more intense rains, but also, although it may sound paradoxical, in more intense snowfalls".
However, climate change will also end up affecting other spheres in our country, such as the economy. As Del Castillo assures, one of the sectors that will be most affected will be tourism, since the maximum temperatures will continue to rise and climate change is increasing the rise in sea level, which will end up flooding the sandy beaches where they are close. thousands of tourists in summer.
On the other hand, Carlos del Castillo was one of the four scientists who participated last Monday in the international press conference organized by NASA to analyze the impacts of climate change. This conference was chaired by the administrator of the space agency, former astronaut Bill Nelson. Undoubtedly, the latest information predicts a complicated future for our country, and in general, the planet.
