After announcing an exceptional heat wave for the month of April, the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) was the target of insults and threats from anonymous people, reports Le Parisien. Uttered on social networks, on their website, by email or by telephone, the insults were such that the government had to intervene to defend Aemet.
In a video posted on its social media, the agency asks for “respect” and reveals the content of the comments made against them: “information hitmen in the service of evil”, “assassins”, “you will pay”, “you are being watched”, “criminals”, “wretches”.
AEMET in
“It’s time to say stop,” said Teresa Ribera, Minister of Ecological Transition, on her Twitter account. “Lying, conspiratorial and fearful, insulting… It impoverishes our society. »
Lying, giving wings to conspiracy and fear, insulting… impoverishes us as a society and results in consequences as rejectable and negative as those denounced by meteorologists @AEMET_Esp. Time to say enough is enough.https://t.co/KsVqvnplRP
In the columns of El Diario, Estrella Gutiérrez, meteorologist and spokesperson for Aemet, admits that “never [they] had [had] received such insults”. Paradoxically, climate-skeptic postures are multiplying despite the fact that Spain is plagued by large episodes of heat waves, starting in April. “The worst thing is that the people [who insult] are convinced that they have the truth,” she continues.
Estrella Gutiérrez repeats it, quoting the latest IPCC report: “Climate change is a reality. And in the face of these insults, she assures that the agency will continue to work “with this professionalism”. But far from being fatalistic, she is also delighted with the “multitude of messages of support” that the Aemet receives, “both from meteorology enthusiasts and institutions”.
At the end of March, Spain, the first European country hard hit by global warming, saw the mercury climb to 40°C in Andalusia, in the south, while the country experiences a prolonged drought with catastrophic consequences for agriculture . Temperatures during this period were 6 to 10°C higher on average than normal for the season. But in some places they exceeded normal seasonal values ??by “15 to 20 degrees”.
