<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - climate change]]> 10 <![CDATA[The neighborhoods of Palma with less income are also those with fewer trees]]>

A woman with two bags in each hand, a man with a fanny pack and a cap, another woman dragging a cart; they are all sweating profusely. A daily scene. They advance clinging to the facade of the buildings, like a line of ants, as if an invisible force were pulling them. In reality, just the opposite is happening: it is the heat that pushes them to seek the little shade cast by the street blocks. They are all heading towards Miquel Dolç square from Josep Darder street with different purposes, but with a shared secondary objective: to be touched as little as possible by the relentless sun of a July morning.

]]> <![CDATA[The sea will boil like the casserole in the oven]]> Readers of Ausiàs March will know the verse I've borrowed from him to title this article. It belongs to poem XLVI from the work of the Gandia poet, one of the fundamental authors in the history of Catalan literature and one of the greatest in all of Europe during the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Ausiàs March, likewise, is in the news this summer in our unfortunate way: his family crypt, located in the monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba (which in itself is an architectural gem, of immense historical and heritage value), in the Valencian region of La Safor, is about to be converted into a thermal spa. Indeed, the company Castilla Termal and the Alfauir City Council intend to convert Ausiàs March's crypt into a jacuzzi. It is difficult to imagine a cruder demonstration of how we are losing our roots as a people and as a culture due to the unbridled rudeness and greed of a few scoundrels who call themselves businessmen and politicians — they are not. The group of poets and activists Saforíssims has posted on their website, 'saforissims.org', the instructions for submitting objections to the project: do it. What happens to our literary and cultural heritage affects us all fully, whether it happens in the Balearic Islands, in the Valencian Country, or wherever it may be.It also affects us, and even more urgently and directly, what happens with the sea. The Balearic Sea has broken surface warming records this infernal summer, and —as Caterina Karmany explained in one of her recent chronicles on TN de TV3, or 3Cat, or whatever it's called— records of up to 33 degrees have been reached, with an average temperature of 30 degrees for many days during these months of July and August. We have lost the freshness of the sea and we swim in water that looks like hot, cloudy broth: however, our discomfort when taking a dip would still be a much smaller problem compared to the effects that this warming can have on marine ecosystems, which are neither rarities nor abstract concepts, but an essential part of our natural environment. Essential means that their destruction points, plain and simple, towards our own destruction. If we humans who inhabit the Mediterranean consent to damage it, we will simply be finished. From an environmental point of view, but also social, and of course economic, our failure (if we do nothing to reverse the warming of the Balearic Sea) will be absolute. That we have had nights with temperatures well over 36 degrees is a fact that has set off alarm bells for a meteorologist like Miquel Salamanca, rigorous and not prone to sensationalism. It is an example that the warning voices must be heard. Without further excuses or delays.Since it may be the only thing our rulers react to, it is necessary to insist on the catastrophic effects that the Balearic Islands following this path can have for the tourism industry. But it is doubtful that even then they will listen, because the greed for immediate gains makes them forget the need to foresee anything for tomorrow. Furthermore, they have chosen to govern hand in hand (under the orders) of an far-right, climate change-denying party. The inaction, cynicism, and lies of today's bad governments will cost us dearly tomorrow: but not a metaphorical tomorrow, but the very next day. This summer has no longer been a warning, but a confirmation that climate change is no longer a theory, but the reality in which we live. The capacity for adaptation is undoubtedly one of the foundations of the evolution of species, but there are adaptations that come closer to the degradation of the species.

]]> <![CDATA[They warn that the Mediterranean is warming up to four times faster than other areas of the planet]]>

The Mediterranean is warming at an ever-faster rate. This is explained by E. Vargas, a researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography of the CSIC, who points out that in some places the temperature is increasing up to three or four times faster than in other areas of the planet.

]]> <![CDATA[This will be the best summer]]>

This never-ending summer has been a time of laments and litanies. We are more saturated than ever and have protested more than ever. But the gatherings, the demonstrations, the al fresco dinners, and the demands have only served to confirm the abyss between the street and the offices of those who decide about our lives, a gap that began to open legislatures ago and has now reached grandiose dimensions. This is not the land of brave politicians and those who truly command do not usually run in elections.

]]> <![CDATA[The Mediterranean is heating up by two degrees due to climate change]]>

Climate change has caused a warming of about 2°C in the Mediterranean, 1.4°C in the region centered on the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Peninsula, and 1.3°C in the Celtic region, according to a new study published this Wednesday by World Weather Attribution (WWA). The research, carried out by scientists from Switzerland, Sweden, the United States (USA), Ireland, and the United Kingdom, is based on the analysis of four coastal regions, from the Celtic areas to the Mediterranean. The authors observed all upward trends that exceeded the average rate of global warming.

]]> <![CDATA[Tunisia and the Balearic Islands share experiences to face drought and climate change in the countryside]]>

Tunisia and the Balearic Islands share increasingly similar challenges regarding drought, climate change, and the future of agricultural activity. In this context, a Mediterranean cooperation initiative promoted by the Assembly of Cooperation for Peace (ACPP) has brought together experiences from Tunisian agricultural communities with those of the Islands to exchange knowledge and adaptation strategies in the face of climate change effects.

]]> <![CDATA[The Balearic Sea registers temperature records in 25 of the last 39 days]]>

The Balearic Sea has registered the highest temperature for these dates on 25 of the 39 days between July 1 and August 8, according to data from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).

]]> <![CDATA[The Balearic Islands will lead the increase in heatwaves until 2050]]>

The Balearic Islands will be one of the territories in the State most affected by the increase in heatwaves in the coming decades. According to the Atlas of Heat Vulnerability, developed by the urban analysis group Trescientosmil and the Department of Earth Sciences of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center within the framework of the European project Impetus4Change, the Islands and the Catalan coast lead the forecasts for the increase of this phenomenon until the year 2050.

]]> <![CDATA[We have learned to inhabit collapse: the apocalypse will find us looking at the horizon]]>

It's very hot. Suspended dust. Heat and humidity. Another plane crosses the sky, cloudy and heavy. Heat like from an exhaust pipe. The Tramuntana is not visible from afar. So hot that you can't go outside. The ring road at five in the afternoon. You can't even breathe. The highway, at the height of the airport, at any time. According to the forecast, tomorrow will be even hotter. Two girls are arrested; they say they had a banner at their home with the slogan 'SOS Residents'. Heat and anguish in the street: we don't know where to put ourselves. Gasoline is going up and yet everything burns: fire on earth and fire in the sky. Orange sunsets, beautiful as a bad omen, as a point of disaster. It's too hot: what if we take shelter from the fan? It's already the end of the month and we don't have money to spend either. Heat like a pressure cooker, as if about to suffocate us, as if about to make thunder.

]]> <![CDATA[Change or die: Less Tourism, More Life]]> Tourism is killing us. I'm not saying it, economists are. Until now, this was a taboo. The economic academy, with a clearly neoliberal tendency, insisted on selling us tourism as the golden goose, thanks to which we all live and don't starve. There are still people who, when you criticize the tourist model, respond: "And you, what do you live on?". We are not talking about tourism in general, but about the current system of tourist monoculture and limitless growth that we suffer from, the model that is killing us. First, due to evidence that became apparent during the pandemic. When I took the Political Economy course, we learned that a monoculture economic system (like the tourism monoculture) is a weak system, exposed to uncontrollable external factors, such as pandemics, geopolitical crises, and fluctuations in transport prices, among others. In the case of tourism, we also depend on the good economic performance of the emitting countries, and let's not forget climate change and rising temperatures. Who will want to come and suffer scorching summers? First lesson: For an economy to be strong, it cannot put all its eggs in one basket; it must diversify. Less tourism and more development of other economic sectors. Secondly, this model, if it once served to improve the Balearic economy, is now impoverishing and expelling the resident population. The Fènix Report (coordinated by Xavier Roig) has just been presented. Although the document was initially focused on Catalonia, its authors maintain that the tourism economy of the Islands is an extreme example of what they denounce, an economy that generates macroeconomic growth, but which impoverishes residents and reduces productivity. The Balearic Islands are increasing their global GDP and population, but GDP per capita and the quality of life of their citizens are not improving. The continuity of this model not only poses technical challenges – such as access to housing, the availability of natural resources, and the sustainability of public services – but also generates general impoverishment and can lead to a growing social fracture, placing us at a crossroads: either structural reforms are adopted to correct current dynamics, or the risk of progressive deterioration of the economic model is assumed. These economists have not been the first to say this. It is fair to mention the Consell Econòmic i Social de les Illes Balears (CES), the collegiate body for participation, study, deliberation, advice, and proposal in economic and social matters, according to the Statute of Autonomy, because in its reports it had already denounced the impoverishment of the Balearic Islands, even though no one, starting with the governments that should be the main recipients of its reports, paid any attention. According to the CES, the Islands are the community that has most impoverished itself in the last twenty-five years. Despite the good macroeconomic figures, household disposable income is falling notably, and we are the territory where it is most difficult to acquire housing. Despite the Balearic Government's effort to decouple the housing problem from tourism, there is a direct relationship. That increased demand causes prices to rise is a fundamental principle of economics. Before, housing was for living. Now it is for tourist rental, second homes for non-resident foreigners, for renting rooms (often abusively, without a contract, without rights, and without a receipt), an investment and speculation asset for vulture funds, etc. According to the Bank of Spain, 10.6% of the total housing stock in the Balearic Islands are tourist homes and those owned by non-residents. In the urban area of Palma, tourist use dwellings represent 7.6% of the rental market, and we assume this refers just to 'legal' rentals. The PP government uses the housing problem as an excuse to destroy territory, but it is tourism where we must look. The tourism that expropriates our homes and rights, as we see now with tourism sector workers and the war on false 'absenteeism' launched by the employers' association. Therefore, we invite you to the demonstration on July 26 called by the Platform Less Tourism, More Life. We want another possible economy at the service of citizens and not of tourism companies, with housing, labor rights, where the territory, natural resources, water are preserved. United, combative and joyful, no one will stop us. Less tourism, more life. 

]]> <![CDATA[Technicians advise against portable air conditioners despite sales having soared 30%]]>

Heat waves have caused a 30% increase in the sale of portable air conditioners, but industry professionals warn that they are not a good option. The Balearic Association of Technicians in Energy, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ABTECIR) warned this Thursday that these units, which have become a quick solution because they do not require installation, are inefficient and increase energy consumption.

]]> <![CDATA[Shit crossing the sea]]> The Popular Party continues to be convinced – and often states it in the declarations of its leaders – that environmental policies are a brake on the economy. In terms of climate emergency, contrary to all the evidence we are already suffering, they remain at the point where sports commentator M. Rajoy left it when he spoke to us about his denialist cousin. It happens that this has direct consequences on citizens and the places where we live. For example, the cuts and oversights in environmental safety have caused deaths and disappearances in the flood in the Valencian Country and, recently, in the fires in Almeria. Climate change and its consequences is or should be one of the top priorities of governments, whether state, autonomous or municipal. Our right prefers to relativize it, and often, in relation to environmental policies, they come out with frivolities and jokes.A frivolity is that the Consell d'Eivissa, in a year like 2026, has not even begun to prepare a waste plan that can be called as such and that is in line with the European Union's directives in this matter, based on the precepts of the circular economy. Quite the contrary, Ibiza (due to the neglect of its rulers) separates less and recycles fewer waste. To make matters worse, the Ca na Putxa landfill is now ending its useful life cycle, which means an accumulation of waste and refuse that the oversaturated island of Ibiza cannot cope with. Solution from our authorities: we will take all this material to Mallorca and burn it there. We will transport it by boat and, once in Mallorca, in trucks that will circulate at night, "so as not to disturb traffic". Apparently, our rulers must not travel much at night, in the summer, on the Mallorcan roads. It is a magnificent idea: we will take the shit – we are talking about it – from a overflowing island to the neighboring island, also overflowing, but larger. As denounced by the platform against the transfer of waste from Ibiza (formed by 17 neighborhood and environmental organizations, established at the Son Sardina neighborhood center), the effects of this maneuver could be disastrous at all levels. We are talking about 80,000 (eighty thousand) tons of waste per year to be incinerated, in addition to the problems that Mallorca already has in managing its own waste: besides pollution and bad smells, public health problems can arise. The first transfer has already been made, not without last-minute setbacks.A bit of a joke, when the current government of the Consell de Mallorca was formed, was to appoint an environmental denier like Pedro Bestard, from Vox, as Minister of the Environment. Like when Mazón appointed a Francoist bullfighter as Minister of Culture of the Valencian Generalitat. These are things that amuse our right-wing leaders, but they are no longer so funny when they are applied to real management. Apart from his problems with official cars, Bestard is a person whose capacity to assume public responsibilities is reasonably questionable. Leaving a strategic social policy like the Environment under the supervision of someone like him, and such a delicate job as the transport of 80,000 tons of waste annually from Ibiza to Mallorca, is worse than recklessness. It is a demonstration of ineptitude that could have undesirable consequences, precisely for the environment and for people. And naturally, transparency in these waste transports is essential: exactly who is paid what amounts, when, how, and for what. We know ourselves.

]]> <![CDATA[Climate, life, politics]]> The exact number of people who have lost their lives due to extreme temperatures in Europe during the recent heatwave that has particularly affected the center of the Old Continent is unknown. Estimates suggest, now that we are beginning a new wave, more than 2,000 people in France, more than 1,200 in Belgium, and more than a thousand in Spain. Millions of animals intended for human consumption have also died. And shortly after the most intense days, thousands of hectares of forest are burning, because the high temperatures have turned forest masses into fuel.As happens with the Danes, a phenomenon somewhat more Mediterranean, we can act as if it had nothing to do with us, and deny, as the far-right does, that any of this has to do with climate change and global warming caused by human action. Politicians like Trump promise more oil than ever and cheaper; billionaires like Elon Musk pollute as never seen before with their continuous launches of satellites into Earth's orbit and their rockets to Mars; and genocides like Netanyahu drop tons and tons of explosives on Palestine and Lebanon which, in addition to annihilating human beings, have environmental effects that will last for generations.The denialist far-right conditions and shapes PP governments in various communities – the latest being Andalusia, the most populous in the country –, questions the work of the scientific community, and criminalizes environmentalism and the defense of life. Politics, in general, is not up to the magnitude of environmental and climate problems, which put the life and well-being of future generations at risk, as a then-adolescent Greta Thunberg, promoter of the "climate strike" that mobilized thousands of young people around the planet, and who today is considered a dangerous communist, already denounced a few years ago.The truly dangerous thing is to do nothing, or to do more of the same. It is also a waste of time getting bogged down, as they have done these days in France, in absurd debates about whether it is ethical to have air conditioning at home with temperatures above 40 degrees. This does not mean that, on an individual level, everyone should not do their part, but I can assure you that I have nothing to do with the more than 20 million tourists who will visit us this year, nor with the half dozen cruise ships that a few days ago unloaded more than 15,000 people at the port of Palma and emitted tons of polluting gases. Nor with the record number of private jets owned by billionaires (some from the area, like Miquel Fluxà) that generate as much CO2 as you and I do in a lifetime. Instead, most schools do not have air conditioning and no one demands accountability for it.We must be able to have air conditioning, and it is clear that we must use it responsibly, as we do with water. But if those who pollute the most and can do the most to prevent it do nothing, and no one forces them either, our contribution will be a grain of sand, but only a grain of sand. It is the politicians who must set rules that guarantee not only social justice, but also climate justice, which implies taking concrete measures that ensure the well-being of present and future generations.This legislature, which is already heading downhill towards the elections, began with a sensible acknowledgement from the President of the Government, who said that limits needed to be placed on our main economic activity, tourism. The figures today point in the opposite direction: we think that the increase in tourist spending and luxury tourism will redeem us, when in reality what they do is raise the prices of the most basic things for residents, starting with housing and continuing with food.Not only have the homework not been done, but in Mallorca we will continue to feed the largest incinerator in the Mediterranean with the waste from the tourists of Ibiza and we will fill the roads with trucks that will transport pre-treated shit so that it does not smell, while we hope that one day there will be real restrictions on car circulation, which makes life impossible for so many Majorcans. Spaces like Es Trenc are unprotected, and others that are, like a good part of the waters of the Balearic Islands, will experience the summer with more aggressions to Posidonia than in centuries, at the hands of ships of all kinds that have already planned to go see the eclipse from the sea next August.We will be very overshadowed. For a long time now, all of this has been unsustainable and words can hold up almost everything, except for the patience of the residents. Because, increasingly, the only ones who will be able to enjoy the island will be those who look at it from their luxury urbanization or from their yacht, while the rest of us resign ourselves to another summer without leaving our home cave. And no complaints, because at least we have a home.

]]> <![CDATA[Two out of three residents of Palma do not have access to green areas]]>

285,000 people living in Palma – two out of three, if we take the 430,000 inhabitants of 2023 as a reference – do not have access to green areas of more than one hectare, according to the report How to guarantee the right to nature?, which compares the green areas of cities according to the population's income and which was made public this Wednesday by Friends of the Earth. Income determines diet, education, housing, opportunities, and also something as seemingly simple as living near a park. The entity's analysis is based on the recommendation of the World Health Organization, the 3-30-300 rule: being able to see 3 trees from the window, 30% vegetation cover in the neighborhood, and a park of at least one hectare no more than 300 meters away.Palma has large parks, but proximity vegetation is scarce in neighborhoods with higher population density, which are also those with lower incomes. "In lower-income neighborhoods, the green space per inhabitant is lower than in higher-income areas due to population density," says the report, which notes that "the situation is especially worrying mainly for vulnerable people, who have fewer green spaces and fewer options to adapt to climate change," explains the head of Participation and Projects at Amics de la Terra Mallorca, Lucía Ami. These are people who do not have the "right to nature" guaranteed.

]]> <![CDATA[MORE asks to adapt the schools of the Islands to the heat]]>

MÉS per Mallorca has called on the Government for a shock plan to adapt the educational centers of the Balearic Islands to heat episodes, which are increasingly common during the school months. The party has registered a proposal in Parliament to promote actions that improve thermal comfort in schools and institutes.

]]> <![CDATA[Tourism must be science in the Balearic Islands]]> A study by the UIB once again sheds light on an essential reality: tourists will not stop coming because of the heat, at least in the coming years. That theory according to which climate change was supposed to help reduce tourist pressure was simply nonsense. And the first reflection that comes to mind is: how can it be that we haven't reflected on the issue before? And the second is also evident: did the rulers and society in general really expect the climate to do what we are incapable of facing?

]]> <![CDATA[February breaks heat records in the Balearic Islands with unprecedented winter temperatures]]>

The Canary Islands experienced an exceptional February from a climatic point of view. With an average temperature of 13.2 °C and an anomaly of +2.9 °C compared to the reference period, last month was extremely warm in the archipelago and the third warmest since 1961, according to the preliminary climatological report from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). By island, February was extremely warm in Mallorca and Ibiza and very warm in Menorca. In Mallorca, the average temperature was 13.3 °C (+2.7 °C); in Menorca, 13 °C (+2.4 °C); and in Ibiza, 13.7 °C (+2.7 °C). Historical records

During the month, numerous records were broken: for average monthly temperature in Mallorca and Ibiza; for average maximum temperature in Mallorca; for highest absolute minimum temperature in Mallorca and Menorca; and for average minimum temperature across the three islands. Several historical weather stations also recorded unprecedented values. This was the case in Lluc (average of 11 °C and anomaly of +3.1 °C, with data dating back to 1943), Pollença (14.2 °C and +2.5 °C), Palma Airport (13.3 °C and +3.2 °C), Son Bonet (13.6 °C and +2.5 °C), and Só (13.2 °C and +3.1 °C).

]]> <![CDATA[Experts warn of environmental decline in the Balearic Islands: "Forests are not compatible with the new climate scenario"]]>

Joan A. Santana Morro, head of the Forest Management and Soil Protection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, presented this Wednesday at the Estudi General Lul·lià, within the framework of the activities of the Climate Academy, a comprehensive analysis on the vulnerability of island forests to the climate crisis Climate change and its impact on island forestsAccording to Santana, the current forest "doesn't fit" with the new climate scenario of persistent droughts and thermal anomalies, which has triggered a decline in the island's forests. This, combined with the large accumulation of forest biomass and water stress, means that these forests are at real risk of suffering extreme and virulent wildfires that are beyond their capacity to be extinguished. The most critical risk, however, comes from pyroconvective fires. Pyroconvective fires are a type of highly virulent fire, not new, but which have been recorded more frequently in recent years, especially during the summer of 2025 in the fires that affected the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. These phenomena, fueled by a warmer atmosphere and a large accumulation of biomass, are capable of modifying the atmosphere and generating "fire precipitation," which releases a large amount of energy that far exceeds the physical limits of firefighting equipment and resources. For this reason, Santana emphasizes the need to seek solutions beyond fire suppression. "Extinguishment is the response, but the solution lies in the active management of the land," he asserts. Management that allows us to confidently face the challenge of climate change and enables the transition and adaptation of forest areas to the new climate scenario. Revitalizing rural activity

Santana urges the restoration of the agroforestry mosaic through prescribed burns, grazing land, preventative forestry, and sustainable forestry practices, among others. To achieve this, a vibrant rural sector, deeply connected to the land, is essential. This sector must provide security for the island's residents and, in turn, maintain diverse and rich forest areas that supply products and services to society. Action must be taken before it is too late to prevent the degradation and loss of quality of these areas, which are vital to the island's inhabitants.

]]> <![CDATA[Storms are washing away the sand from the beaches of southern Menorca]]>

Recent storms have washed away almost all the sand from the most popular beaches on Menorca's south coast. The force of the wind and the pounding waves have completely devastated the beaches of Binigaus, Sant Tomàs, and Sant Adeodat, in the municipality of Migjorn Gran, as well as the first stretch of Son Bou (Alaior), the island's longest beach. In the case of Son Bou, the remaining almost two and a half kilometers of coastline are now reduced to just a third of their original dune system. This significant reduction in sand has sparked concern among the affected municipalities just over two months before the official start of the tourist season.

]]> <![CDATA[A future without beaches in Ibiza]]>

Try it out. Go to Google Earth (available on web and Android) and do zoom On top of your favorite beach, select the 'Show past images' function until you find the first clear photo. We tested this on the beaches of the small, overpopulated municipality of Ibiza, as they are the subject of this article: Talamanca, Les Figueretes, and a section of Playa de la Bossa. The first truly clear photos are from 2008-2009. Only 17 years have passed, but you can already see how Talamanca has lost some of its sand, while a section of Playa de la Bossa has simply evaporated.

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