The delegate of the Government, Alicia Echeverría, has valued the “extraordinary work” carried out by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) in circumstances that, as she has pointed out, are increasingly “complex”. This has been said at the opening of the commemorative event of the World Meteorological Day held in Haro and organized by the delegate of AEMET Navarra and La Rioja, Paloma Castro.
Alicia Echeverría recalled that we are confronted, more and more frequently, with episodes that are not always easy to predict, and climate events “in which the extraordinary begins to be ordinary”. He has assured that the work of the people who make up AEMET is capable of preventing and preventing major disasters. “We just have to live up to these announcements to transfer the right information to the citizens at all times,” added Echeverría.
The delegate of the Government has pointed out that extreme weather events are increasingly frequent in Spain and the rest of the world, and it is necessary to redouble efforts in the fight against climate change. In this regard, he recalled that Spain has already exceeded the objectives set by mobilizing 1.4 billion euros for climate financing two years ahead of schedule. And it has defined the way to become a carbon-neutral country and respectful of environmental limits by 2050.
In Spain, around 24,000 people die each year due to pollution and between the years 2023 and 2024 there were 5,000 deaths attributable to heat waves. “Not only is the health of the planet at stake, we must also preserve human health and that of other living beings, making it very clear that there can be no healthy people in a sick world,” said the government delegate, who has criticized the denial of climate change.
In the course of the event held today in Haro, José Calvo Azpeitia and Carlos Izuriaga Zaratiegui, collaborators of AEMET, have been recognized. In addition, the conference “Red Warning of AEMET, now what?” has taken place.