The Valencian MP Juan Bordera is calling for greater preparedness for extreme weather events in response to the climate phenomenon. In an interview published on 12 November with elDiario.es, the politician from the coalition El Niño pointed to a possible link between strong El Niño episodes and severe storms in the Compromís Mediterranean region Mediterranean region. However, this does not establish that El Niño caused or intensified individual floods in Spain .
On 10 November, Bordera took part in Brussels in the launch of the international campaign “Alerta El Niño”. At the event in the European Parliament, participants called for better preparation for the climate phenomenon’s possible effects. They included Antonio Turiel, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The MEP Vicent Marzà from Compromís had supported the event.
El Niño is a recurring warming of surface waters in the tropical Pacific, accompanied by changes in the atmosphere. It can affect weather patterns in distant regions too. In its assessment on 8 October, the US climate forecasting agency said that the current El Niño episode was strengthening. A strong to very strong event was likely between January and March 2027. The agency also stressed that typical effects were not guaranteed, even during a strong episode.
In the interview, Bordera referred, among other things, to historic floods and heavy rainfall in the region Valencia, which coincided in time with strong El Niño episodes. According to elDiario.es, he acknowledged that the possible mechanism needed further investigation. Temporal proximity alone does not prove that the climate phenomenon triggered a particular storm.
The same applies to whether, and to what extent, El Niño changes the risk of heavy rainfall on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. This requires scientific studies that take regional links and other influencing factors into account. No specific forecast for a place or a particular time can be inferred from Bordera’s warning.
The campaign is addressing its appeal to political decision-makers. Its call for preparedness should be distinguished from a weather forecast: calling for preparedness does not mean that a particular storm in Spain has already been predicted.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).