It is likely that at this time you doubt whether a change in climate is really taking place or not, which is to a certain extent logical since the snowfalls that have occurred in Spain these days seem to indicate the opposite.
However, it is very easy to confuse the terms weather and climate. They have a close relationship, but they are not the same: while the first refers to the specific values of a certain place, the second refers to these same data but in the long term.
Taking this into account, waves of cold and heat, floods, hurricanes and other phenomena that originate in the atmosphere are specific events that climate change does not prevent but does modify. As explained by the AEMET meteorologist Ernesto Rodríguez Camino to the portal Hipertextual, »When we have changes in the climate, observed and projected into the future, one of the things that is observed is that the extreme phenomena change. You can change the intensity, the frequency ... cold-type phenomena tend to be less in number and less intense. But that does not mean that they are suppressed and that when one appears, climate change is called into question.
Despite the fact that this cold wave that we are experiencing seems an exceptional event, it is not the first time it has happened nor will it be the last. In our most recent history, we highlight the following coldest waves in Spain:
- From December 13 to 29, 2001: with a duration of 17 days, the minimum temperature was -15ºC and affected 32 provinces.
- From February 8 to 15, 2012: with a duration of 7 days, the minimum temperature recorded was -20ºC. It affected 30 provinces.
These phenomena of low temperatures and snowfalls are one of the things that can best predict, so that the population can be given early notice so that they can take the necessary measures and thus avoid problems.