Many Basques await the arrival of sunny summer days. “It’s not common for this time to be done in May,” some say, “earlier it was,” others. The people of Lazkao and Maule do not know how to blame climate change and what not, but they have surprised the heavy spring rains of 19 May. How do we understand atmospheric phenomena? What is normal and what is not? Faced with the impossibility of blaming the clouds for the damage suffered, people resort to the authorities reminding them that responsibility falls to them.

Authorities claim that they are “abnormal” time points and calculate damages as isolated events. It is becoming clear, however, that many countries are experiencing serious natural disasters. They are taking the first lines of the informative and the boring word of the elevator over time is now a concern.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul has been flooded since the end of April, although it has had little impact in our country. The continued rains and massive floods have led to the total destruction of the state: over 618,000 people have lost their homes underwater and hundreds of people have a shortage of water, electricity and food. The authorities’ latest data speak of at least 154 deaths and 98 missing, but it is known that the figure will rise, as it will take months to deal with the consequences of this “extraordinary” disaster. President Lula da Silva warns that “these floods are a warning to the world. We have to bear in mind that the Earth is demanding reparation from us.” In the Rio Grande do Sul they have flooded three times in eight months, it is common for citizens.

Caribbean residents are becoming more and more accustomed to living worried about the hurricane season; by May the house is filling with water and conserving, as the hurricane season begins in June and ends in November, and weather agencies have announced that this year will hit them hard. In the North Atlantic, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea, cyclones are born during these months, but in 2024 the season will be “very active”, as it is expected that some twenty tropical cyclones will be created, of which eleven could become hurricanes. It is a significant amount, but what is common, among other things, because the sea surface temperature has increased considerably. This makes cyclones gain weight and hurricanes more dangerous, according to the Insmet Meteorology Institute from Havana headquarters.

The situation does not seem to calm down. According to the May report of the World Meteorological Organization, 2023 was the warmest of all times in Latin America and the Caribbean, 0.82 degrees warmer than the average between 1991 and 2020. Living in these areas is increasingly risky and both citizens and experts are demanding strength and resources to prevent it. The “rare” disaster management protocols are obsolete; if more realistic protocols are not put in place instantly, citizens will continue to die “from natural factors”.