The government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, has announced that the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) will invest 1.26 million euros in the next months in the renewal of equipment of the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) in Cantabria.

Casares announced this Thursday on his visit to the territorial center of the AEMET, located on the north coast of Santander, in Cueto, where he has known all the work carried out by the 30 professionals of the Agency in the community by the hand of its director, Sergio Fernández.

The delegate has detailed that six automatic meteorological stations of the 22 that the AEMET has in Cantabria (Alto Campoo, San Vicente de la Barquera, Torrelavega, Castro Urdiales, Polientes and Nestares) will be renewed, and to which another 55 manual stations of collaborators are added. In the renovation of these six stations, 360,000 euros will be invested.

In addition, it has advanced that the renewal of the radar located in Asturias is already under way and that is coordinated from the AEMET in Cantabria, and whose replacement involves an investment of 900,000 euros. In total, 1.26 million euros to improve the services of this public service.

“I want to highlight the commitment of the Government of Spain and the Ministry for the Ecological Transition for investments to improve public services,” said the delegate, who has detailed that these investments are part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) with which, thanks to European funds, “we are transforming the country.”

On the other hand, it has valued the “extraordinary” work of the AEMET in Cantabria and throughout Spain and that is “fundamental” in terms of prevention.

“The warnings they make are key so that the authorities can decide on warnings against adverse weather events or emergencies,” he said, referring to the wave of fires that has affected the country this summer and in which the work of the AEMET has been “decisive” in the fight against fire.

In another order of matters, Casares has highlighted other works of the AEMET in Cantabria “less known”, especially the coordination of weather forecasts for the operation of airports throughout the north of Spain, in particular the 10 airfields of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country and Navarre.

“To give you an idea, the Seve Ballestries-Santander Airport could not function without the work that is done from the meteorological observatory that AEMET has at the airport and that every 30 minutes issues warnings with forecasts to ensure the safety of flights,” explained the delegate.

Finally, he again highlighted the importance of the AEMET in the current situation in which “the emergence of climate change” makes “increasingly adverse and extreme phenomena” and whose work will contribute when adopting measures or issuing alerts to intense rains, fires or high temperatures.

“It is key to work on the emergence of climate change, to care for and protect citizens. The AEMET is fundamental and we will work together with them to reinforce all that work that improves people’s lives,” he concluded.