The state meteorological agency Aemet reaffirmed on 21 September 2026 that any review of the system of meteorological warnings must be agreed with the autonomous civil protection authorities. The agency says it has received no formal written request from the Comunitat Valenciana to change criteria or procedures for the Consell The statement follows discussions after Heavy rain in the province of Valencia the previous week.
Following the storms, the Valencian government publicly called for more precise forecasts and warning thresholds better tailored to the region. Representatives of the Generalitat Valenciana criticised the forecasts as too general and said they had not adequately reflected local developments. The aim is to better adapt future official responses to localised risks. The debate concerns both the classification of warning colours and their links to operational alert chains.
By contrast, Aemet points to existing coordination mechanisms with the Protección Civil of the Autonomous Communities. Alert thresholds are based on expected impacts, with regional civil protection services contributing their knowledge of local vulnerabilities. The agency rejects any unilateral change to the warning system; formal requests and technically agreed arrangements would be required.
During the latest event, the Generalitat Valenciana defended the use of the mobile phone alert service ES-Alert as a precautionary measure to warn of possible rising water levels and local flooding. The Consell also discussed whether thresholds for hydrological risks should be tightened in particularly exposed areas. However, as things stand, no specific changes to procedures have been officially initiated.
In practice, Aemet’s position means that short-notice changes to alert levels are unlikely without formal applications and joint technical assessments. For authorities in the Comunitat Valenciana, coordination between meteorological warnings and operational response procedures remains central. Politically, the dispute is likely to keep cooperation between Aemet, the Generalitat Valenciana and municipal services on the agenda. The immediate news is Aemet’s explanations today; the demands previously voiced by Valencia date from last week and were prompted by the heavy rainfall.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).