“Episal rivers” and “intermittent rivers” are becoming increasingly popular due to climate change

Have you seen a lot of rivers lately where not a drop of water runs? The answer is probably “yes”, that is Absolutely dry channel rivers with a desert side They are increasingly common in Spain for most of the year. Part of the blame for its water shortage is climate change.

They are known asephemeral rivers‘Those who have water only when it rains heavily. This is the case of the Rambla de la Viuda, in Castellón, which only accumulates sediment during the year, but in times of heavy rain it has a current.

As Gerardo Benito, a researcher at the Museum of Natural Sciences at the “CSIC” (Supreme Council for Scientific Research), explains to laSexta, “There was no water this year. After a week or two“Something that was not usual before.

But it is not the only case. The same fate runs the Rambla de Cervera, also in Castellón; Andarax River in Almeria; Or the Chiva Valley in Valencia. When it rains, it usually carries large amounts of water, even flooding it. But without rain they remain dry.

There is also a less extreme condition, which is known aschoppy riverThis happens when the water runs continuously for up to eight months and the flow dries up only once a year. Spain has many of these and is located in Catalonia, the Valencian region, Murcia or Almeria.

The problem is More and more are being added to the listThis is partly responsible for climate change: “We have a more extreme climate. It’s raining less and less Gerardo Benito says that these rains are concentrated in a much shorter period.

For example, this spring has been the driest in the past fifteen years. Worldwide, more than half of the rivers are “intermittent”. According to a study in the journal “Nature,” Spain It is one of the points in Europe where this phenomenon is most likely to occur.

Environmentalists warn of this deteriorating river health It ended up being forgotten and many of them became landfills.