Hot and hotter - Climate change is upon us
The forecast is that this summer will be hot - very, very hot. It is in line with the general trend that our summers will become warmer and more humid and torrential rains will become more frequent.
According to Juan Carlos Moreno, regional government director of the environment, the Canary Islands can expect to suffer more periods of very heavy rain and longer periods of drought and calima – suffocating and dusty Sahara weather – as a consequence of climate change.
He added that the eastern isles will suffer even more from the desertification process.
“It’ll be a steady progression,” he said. “Each year the effects will be more discernible and slowly but surely our climate will change, with greater contrasts throughout the year.
“We are trying to alleviate catastrophic consequences,” he continued, “with programmes aimed specifically at establishing which form of vegetation is best suited to warding off the worst effects of desertification. We are also encouraging the clearing of ravines to free them up so rainwater will flow downhill unimpeded.”
In the longer term climate change in these islands will inevitably bring about biodiversity loss, he added. Certain animal and plant species could well vanish completely.
Sr Moreno said the waters around the islands will become more tropical. Already the effects are obvious. For example there is the proliferation of a certain type of sea urchin which is seeing off other species of sea life.
The long spined urchin is now common even in El Hierro, an island where it was previously unknown.
Meanwhile the global warming question is beginning to make local trade unionists a bit hot under the collar.
The Canary branch of CC.OO warned of the likely repercussions on employment and the economy and has advised the regional government to curb its enthusiasm for grandiose expansion and take the global warming factor into account in its future policy-making.
At a recent news conference CC.OO representatives said the islands cannot ignore climate change concerns, especially in view of the region’s vulnerability and reliance on the exterior.
Juan Bermúdez said that in addition to global warming and rising sea levels and the repercussions both will have on these islands and their coastal zones, the archipelago will be subject to extreme weather phenomena which may have a direct influence on tourism.
He reminded those present that 85% of foodstuffs consumed in the Canaries are imported and any world crisis on the food front triggered by climate change could jeopardize supplies. The consequences could be dire.
And the energy crisis which rising temperatures would cause is also a major concern and one which, he said, the authorities should take extremely seriously.
“The Canary Islands cannot continue to plan its economy as if energy is dirt cheap. Measures must be taken now to anticipate the coming situation,” he said and slammed the regional government for “only thinking along the lines of planning the upcoming tourism promotion” and not facing up to the fact that the present policy of expansion, based on more and more autopistas and hotel beds is by any light wholly unsustainable.
“If they carry on thinking in expansionist terms, we may all be in for a very big shock,” said Sr Bermúdez, who pleaded for the regional government to take the lead in making the necessary changes so that the archipelago can face up to the challenge of climate change. AW
tenerifenews.com |
