Spain – Page 4 – Desdemona Despair

Surface temperature map for Europe and North Africa on 20 May 2022. Morocco observed its hottest day in May on 20 May 2022, recording a temperature of 45.7°C (114°F). With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC in Spain on 21 May 2022, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. Graphic: Scott Duncan

May 22, 2022

Spain endures record heatwave as May 2022 to become hottest month of the century – Morocco suffers hottest day in May on record

22 May 2022 (Euronews) – Spain is feeling the heat after temperatures soared this weekend, reaching up to 15 degrees above average for the season. With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC on Saturday, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. At least 13 regions were on alert due to […]

Global quantities of amphetamine-type stimulants seized, 2009-2019. Data: Responses to the annual report questionnaire (UNODC, 2021). Graphic: EMCDDA

May 7, 2022

Europe turns into cocaine hub as multi-billion-euro market expands, EU says

By Francesco Guarascio 6 May 2022 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe is increasingly becoming a hub for production and trans-shipment of cocaine to other regions of the world, in addition to being a major consumption market, EU agencies said on Friday, warning also about the expanding methamphetamine industry. After cannabis, cocaine is the most consumed drug […]

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in the WHO European Region, by sex, 1975–2016. Graphic: WHO

May 5, 2022

World Health Organization warns of obesity epidemic in Europe – “Overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the region and are still escalating”

3 May 2022 (AFP) – The WHO said Tuesday that “epidemic” overweight and obesity rates are linked to over 1.2 million deaths annually across Europe, calling for swift policy changes to reverse the dangerous trend. Obesity rates in the region have ballooned by 138 percent in the past five decades, the World Health Organization said […]

Evolution of democracy by category, 2008-2021. The EIU Democracy Index score ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 being best. this chart shows what has happened to the average global score across the five categories of the index between 2008 — before the global financial crisis — and 2021. The categories that have recorded the biggest deterioration in global terms are civil liberties (-1.00 on a 0-10 scale) and electoral process and pluralism (-0.47). Suggesting a possible correlation, functioning of government and political culture both recorded a very similar decline in their average global scores (-0.38 and -0.37 respectively). Graphic: EIU

May 3, 2022

EIU Democracy Index reached all-time low in 2021 – Fewer than half (45.7 percent) of the world’s people now live in a democracy of some sort – “Another bad year for democracy”

By Chauncey Devega 2 May 2022 (Salon) – Global democracy is sick. In the United States, Donald Trump’s supporters in the Republican Party continue to steamroll the Democrats and other pro-democracy forces. To say that the latter have for the most part been hapless, uncoordinated and paralyzed by denial is not overstating the case. Political scientists and […]

The village of Aceredo, in Galicia, Spain on 22 November 2021, after it emerged from years of being underwater. Aceredo was one of five villages that were inundated when the Lindoso Reservoir was built in 1992. Record drought in Spain reduced the reservoir’s water to its lowest level since it was filled. Photo: Miguel Riopa / AFP

December 24, 2021

Drought reveals abandoned Spanish village after 30 years underwater – Lindoso Reservoir level drops to record low

2 December 2021 (Love Exploring) – We’re used to reports that climate change will soon plunge the world’s beloved landmarks underwater. But this curious Spanish village has an opposite story: once engulfed by water, it recently re-emerged due to extremely low rainfall. Read on to discover the fascinating tale – plus see more amazing photos […]

View of air pollution in Moscow, Russia on 6 August 2010 and 20 April 2020. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / Niklas Halle'n / AFP / Getty Images

April 26, 2020

Before-and-after photos show dramatic decline in air pollution around the world during coronavirus lockdown

By Sophie Lewis 22 April 2020 (CBS News) – As humans continue to stay indoors under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Earth is slowly healing. Wild animals have taken to roaming the streets, clear waters have returned to the Venice canals and the world is literally shaking less. With billions of people quarantined and businesses closed, travel has all but […]

Coronavirus COVID-19 global cases, 26 Mar 2020. Graphic: Center for Systems Science and Engineering CSSE at Johns Hopkins University

March 26, 2020

World passes 500,000 coronavirus cases – U.S. overtakes Italy and China with most cases globally

26 March 2020 (Desdemona Despair) – The world reached an unhappy milestone today, as the number of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2, aka novel coronavirus, exceeded a half-million. More than 23,000 deaths have been reported globally. As Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, observed three days ago, “It took 67 days from the […]

COVID-19 cases in mainland China (orange) and worldwide (yellow), 20 January 2020 - 15 March 2020. Graphic: Johns Hopkins University

March 15, 2020

Graph of the Day: Worldwide COVID-19 cases surpass China cases

15 March 2020 (Desdemona Despair) – Des follows the Johns Hopkins University dashboard for COVID-19 on a daily basis. Today, the total number of cases outside of China (81.7k) exceeded the total number of cases in mainland China (81k). The exponential rise in global cases shows no sign of abating. Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by […]

The sky on a beach on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands is red from the worst sandstorm in 40 years, on 22 February 2020. Photo: Elvira Urquijo A. / EPA / Shutterstock

March 6, 2020

Sandstorm wreaks havoc in Canary Islands, worst such storm to hit the islands in 40 years – “I’m old enough to know all about the calima, but I don’t recall it that strong. Everything just turned red.”

By Raphael Minder 24 February 2020 MADRID – Winds from the Sahara continued to send streams of sand drifting over the Canary Islands on Monday, creating chaos as the swirling sands forced planes to be grounded, disrupted traffic and exacerbated wildfires. Ángel Víctor Torres, the regional president of the islands, a Spanish archipelago, told Spanish […]

Satellite view of the Valdecañas Reservoir in Spain, on 24 July 2013 and 25 July 2019. The record heatwave and extreme drought of 2019 revealed the lost “Spanish Stonehenge”, the Dolmen of Guadalperal. Photo: Lauren Dauphin / NASA Earth Observatory

September 24, 2019

Record heatwave and extreme drought reveal lost “Spanish Stonehenge”

By Kasha Patel 19 September 2019 (NASA) – In 1963, the Spanish government under Francisco Franco built the Valdecañas Reservoir in order to bring water and electricity to underdeveloped parts of western Spain. However, the creation of the reservoir flooded some inhabited areas as well as large stone (megalithic) monuments. After fifty years underwater, one […]