We are heading in leaps and bounds, hand in hand with a ruling class that doesn’t seem particularly concerned, to a scenario in which global warming points to catastrophic consequences unless we do something about it. This summer has been one of the most difficult in living memory, historical traces have been crushed to powder and just a few weeks ago, in mid-October, the temperature measurement in certain areas of the Mediterranean Sea, including the Levante coast of Spain, reached 25 degrees, despite the fact that we are already they were at the gates of autumn.

The signals, as I say, are getting clearer and are being reproduced on a global scale, which means a growing threat not only to marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but also to coastal areas, given that one of the direct consequences of global warming is sea level rise. In this regard, just a few days ago I saw a video by one of my favorite YouTube popularizers, a huge world, which tells us about the more than uncertain future of Kiribati. This may seem anecdotal, yes, but we can also read it as a preamble of what may come.

The situation of Kiribati may seem distant, dated and even exotic to us from the old continent. But, as I mentioned before, this summer, together with the recent maximum water temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea, we need to be reminded that this is a threat that we also face. Much more than we would like to think, from what we can read in Forbes Mexico. And precisely that, according to a report issued jointly by the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization, which is part of the United Nations, Global warming is progressing twice as fast in Europe as in the rest of the world.

The data is clear and goes beyond the idiosyncrasies that may appear in a particular year from year to year The report analyzes temperature trends in Europe from 1991 to 2021that is, a span of 30 years, the period in which the Alpine glaciers have lost 30 meters of thickness and the Greenland ice sheet is melting.

And what are we facing? The truth is that the outlook is bleak.because on the one hand we have sea level rise, which threatens coastal safety, as in other geographical areas such as the Netherlands, and on the other hand, according to the report, because “temperatures will rise faster in all European regions than in the world,” which means heat waves like the ones we experienced this recent hot summer will become more common.

The worst part is, despite the measures already taken, it seems too late to prevent this situationalthough it is true that, according to experts, it is still possible to prevent the worsening of the situation, and in this respect the policies adopted by the European Union stand out positively, which have allowed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 31% in three decades, something that confirms that Europe is at the forefront … even if it’s still not enough.

From heat waves to floods, to the destruction of entire ecosystems (and their associated economies) to outbreaks of diseases that will multiply with this rise in temperature, the consequences of quick and decisive action can be catastrophic. And though many of us will see it is the youngest, the children of our generations and their successors, who will face this poisoned gift. Makes you think…