Walter Finch
A SPANISH weather forecaster has slammed the ‘terrifying’ online backlash her organisation has received to its reporting on Spain’s early summer heat.
Sandra Monrabal with meteorologists Meteored was left stunned by the rabid disbelief in scientific data after a tweet about Aemet’s warning for an ‘episode of abnormally high temperatures’ across the country racked up over one million impressions in just under 24 hours.
The post, shared on Thursday, detailed a sweltering heatwave set to scorch the Iberian Peninsula with maximum temperatures in the mid-40s – hotter than Abu Dhabi.
Yet instead of gratitude or concern, Monrabal, who is the Director of Communications at Meteored, found herself facing ‘hordes of partisans’ who dismissed the data outright.
READ MORE: Number of days over 40C by start of June in Spain doubles all previous days COMBINED in 2025
The alert highlighted a trend Monrabal knows all too well: CO2 levels have soared to 422.8 parts per million this year, a 25% jump since 1980, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US.
Yet, the response on social media was anything but scientific.
READ MORE: WATCH: Locals outraged as boozy Brits brawl in chaotic summer for Spain’s Ibiza
“The science is being attacked by a cult that sees objective facts as nothing,” she said, pointing to a wave of sceptics who branded the warning as part of a ‘globalist conspiracy’.
Some even shared old weather maps to argue heatwaves are nothing new, ignoring decades of peer-reviewed evidence linking rising temperatures to human activity.
For Monrabal, the viral tweet was a wake-up call. While some praised Aemet’s work, the venom from deniers left her shaken.
Monrabal’s frustration echoes a growing cultural shift in Spain, where coordinated misinformation campaigns – 70% of climate denial online, per a 2021 Nature Climate Change study – fuel distrust.
Expats and locals alike, basking in another Spanish scorchio summer, might shrug off the data, but the forecaster warns this rejection could have dangerous consequences.
“These are the people who’ll suffer when the heat turns deadly. It’s not just about weather, it’s about believing in evidence,” she insisted.
Other science professionals shared her dismay.
“It’s getting scarier and more infuriating every time; you can’t report on these kinds of situations without the usual people coming to bother you,” another well-known weather commentator said.
“I want to believe that it’s only a small part and that, for the rest, the data and information are indeed useful to us,” wrote Juan Carlos Asensio-Soto, a professor at the European University of Valencia.
READ MORE: ‘Remain indoors as much as possible’: New Spain heatwave could reach 46C in ‘hottest June ever’
Biologist Guillermo Ferrer, who has tracked CO2 rises himself, also chimed in to criticise the graphic-heavy presentation that muddies public understanding.
“You’re getting it wrong with the graphics,” he told Monrabal, reflecting a shared frustration that even well-intentioned data can be lost on a disbelieving audience.
Another commenter wrote: “I think it’s not ‘objective’ to use the colour black for temperatures that have we’ve been having for decades.”
Monrabal shot back: “We haven’t been having them for decades, they’re only happening now – before they were exceptional.
“And in any case, if the black conveys risk, it’s well done, because it’s a dangerous situation.”
Click here to read more Weather News from The Olive Press.
