Editorial: Our house is on fire

Simona Cerrato
July 25, 2023, 12:07 p.m.

The August issue of our digital magazine comes as Europe is hit by a wave of extreme weather events. Greece is burning, Italy and Spain are experiencing temperatures over 40 degrees, water is running out in many countries. These add to the fires, extreme temperatures, droughts or hurricanes we see — seemingly helpless — all over the planet, from Asia to Africa to the Americas.

Temperature of the surface of the land on 17 July 2023 (credits: ESA/Copernicus/Sentinel-3)

This is not an emergency, not anymore: it is our new normality. Nor are they sudden or unexpected events. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC reports from the 1990s already spoke very clearly. But we preferred to ignore them. Although a global approach is necessary to address and mitigate the effects of this imminent catastrophe, this does not mean that the contribution of each of us, of each organisation, project, initiative, association is not extremely useful and necessary.

There are no simple solutions, however citizen science can be an effective approach, because no solution can do without the contribution of all, and it is precisely on this participatory principle that citizen science is based.

This month we talk about data, which is the basis of all research, and how to involve citizens in this. You will also find lots of fresh news from the collaboration group's many projects and initiatives. The next issue will be in October. In the meantime, use the eu-citizen.science platform and its new features that were presented on Thursday 27 July. Follow our social media and spread our activities.