A number of Spaniard social media users, who many would call conspiracy theorists, are claiming that “rain is artificially being diverted from the Iberian Peninsula to Morocco, to favor its agricultural sector, so that the Kingdom supplies Europe.”
Despite how laughable this claim may sound to many, an alarming number of people have bought into this piece of disinformation.
“Look at the rain forecasts between April 16 and 21, 2023. Iberian Peninsula, an island of dryness, but Morocco, to the south, curiously very blue, watered and fertile,” tweeted one Spanish user.
The Iberian Peninsula has been suffering for years from an extreme drought that seriously threatens agricultural production. In some areas, water no longer runs in the tap and tankers have to supply drinking water.
Farmers are seeing their crops fail or have to move their crops to other areas. The olive and wine sectors in particular have been hit hard.
According to a US study, rainfall in Spain will decrease by another 10% to 20% by the end of this century. This would make Spanish agriculture one of the most vulnerable in Europe.
More than 50 forest fires have already broken out this year, destroying more than 120,000 hectares of nature. Spain holds the “forest fire terrorists” responsible.
The heat and drought make it difficult to extinguish and increase the risk of new fires. Spanish farmers and citizens are hoping for rain, but it seems that it will not come at the moment.
In contrast, and despite geographic proximity and meteorological similarities, Morocco has seen slightly more rain this year than its northern neighbor.
Despite the Kingdom’s authorities signaling an alarming water ressources shortage in the country, some Iberian nationals insist that “European rains are being gifted to Morocco,” in an attempt to make sense of the difference.
The rumor was so serious that, Spanish experts have come out to denounce the alleged “governmental ploy,” assuring across different media platforms that it is “absolutely impossible to divert rains from one place to another.”
According to experts interviewed by the Maldita agency, it is “absolutely impossible” to divert rain from one place to another and the rainfall recorded in Morocco in the third week of April is caused by the low-pressure area over Algeria.
“Morocco, and other parts of North Africa, would be associated with the desert, while the average annual rainfall in some areas of this mountain range [the Atlas] is about or more than 1,000 l/m2, much more than in many other parts of Spain,” Meteored geographer Samuel Biener told Maldita.
The energy equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs would be needed to divert Iberian rains to Morocco, and the rain in Morocco in the third week of April 2023 is due to the fact that an area of low pressure on Algeria was dragging towards it a stream of humid air from the Mediterranean that collided with the Atlas Mountains.
Despite the percipitations that could make neighboring countries wonder, Morocco is far from overcoming the devastating effects of last year’s historic drought. Although 2023 has been an improvement, the agricultural sector in Morocco is in agony, and water ressources in the Kingdom remain far from confortable.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.