The meteorologists were clear and they were right: the end of the year is being synonymous with an enormous anticyclonic ridge that connects the Canary Islands with the south of Russia and prevents the entry of storms from the Atlantic.
That is, clear skies, little wind and above-normal daytime temperatures (with big drops at night): tranquility, tranquility, tranquility.
Or so we thought, because we didn’t count on the fog.
The fog? Indeed, the most dangerous meteorological phenomenon of this last weekend of 2024 will be fog. It is logical: the lack of wind and stability will cause very intense ‘thermal inversions’. In many areas of the country (especially in the interior and in the valleys), the cold air will be ‘imprisoned’ causing frost, fog banks and gelling snow. We knew this.
The novelty that the models draw is that this is going to be more frequent and (locally) persistent than we expected.
A problem for movements… Because as Jose Antonio Maldonado says, “in some inland areas they will be very dense and persistent, locally freezing, giving rise to chiselage.” In fact, the AEMET has activated some notices.
No wonder: fog “reduces visibility, makes it difficult to detect dangers and makes it difficult for a driver to calculate the distance.” You have to be careful this weekend on the road.
…and also for health. This is surely one of the least talked about topics when we talk about fog. In every report about haze, the impact of suspended dust on cardiorespiratory health is detailed. It doesn’t happen with fog and yet they have the same problem.
As Carmel Vidal, head of the Emergency Department at the Vilanova Hospital in Lleida, explained, foggy days aggravate pathologies “that have to do with the respiratory system”, worsen flu symptoms and “produce more cases of bronchitis.” Drowning and respiratory failure symptoms that lead to dyspnea become very common. Especially in patients with heart disease.
And all this without adding mental health problems.
A very interesting 2025. But beyond these small meteorological skirmishes, what we know about 2025 makes it a very interesting year. The doubts about what will happen with La Niña (and how it will affect us in a context of water stress, high temperatures and uncontrolled desertification) open the field of what is possible a lot. It doesn’t seem like we’re going to be calm
Imagen | San Bernardino / ECMWF
In WorldOfSoftware | We have spoken with a meteorologist to understand how it is possible that the Cold Drop always catches us without being prepared
