Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Assisted by Onintze Salazar

Onintze Salazar, meteorologist from Bilbao. 04/04/1971

Hi, I'm Onintze Salazar. I am a meteorologist and I work at Euskalmet.
Meteorology is the science that studies the atmosphere. Both the atmosphere and the phenomena that occur in it. And a meteorologist, to be honest, can work in many fields. I know that the most popular thing is to make announcements, but of course, in order to be able to make these predictions, there is a lot of work behind, both in terms of research and in this way of improving these models. They are numerical models, in which a lot of meteorologists work. In addition, there is work in the environmental field, i.e. in the study of the dispersion of pollutants, as well as in airports and navigation.
This world of predictions is important to all these predictions that we make in order to organize our free time, but it is important above all to make a good prediction when extreme phenomena come, so that later this will cause as little damage to society as possible. In these cases, predictions must be made well, the situation must be well taken care of, and there is also a lot of work to be done. Therefore, what is achieved there is the avoidance or at least the minimisation of material or personal injury.
On the one hand, it seems to me that people appreciate the information we give them, they ask for it every day, more and more, and in this sense it seems to me that, yes, the work we do is appreciated. But on the other hand, there are always people, I think, out of ignorance, who criticize and believe that our work is not worth it or that we work badly. And it should not be confused with the fact that a prediction is good or bad. This has nothing to do with whether we do the job right or wrong.
First, we need to know that it's a prediction, a probability. Meteorology follows the theory of chaos, and the theory of chaos states that predictions cannot be made with a percent reliability, they cannot be made today, and they cannot be made later. What we are doing is making better and better predictions over the years. We are trying to make this level of reliability grow, but there will always be a level of uncertainty, always.
I studied physics. At first, I liked astrophysics a lot and that’s why I started these studies. But then along the way I got to know the weather, I liked it better, and I said: "I'm going to study Aerial or Atmospheric Physics." I finished my career in Barcelona, and at that time most of the job opportunities were in Barcelona and Madrid, where I spent the first four years working, making predictions and presenting. Then when Euskalmet started to consolidate and grow, they called me and the truth is that I didn’t think too much and I came back to the Basque Country and since then I have been working in Euskalmet.
I have entered this work because I wanted to, I have done the studies I wanted, and the truth is that in order to work, this is the most beautiful area that I can think of now. So it’s a job that I love to do. There’s also a point of hobby, there’s also a point of passion, but I’m not one to watch the Internet; I know how to disconnect. The truth is that if I stay here during the holidays, it is more difficult to disconnect completely, because the weather is something that changes every day, but I know how to disconnect. Above all, it is a profession that I enjoy doing.
Since part of the work I do is public, the work is studied more, more people see your work, more people have opinions about your work, and as a result, the criticisms are also very severe. And in these cases, I accept criticism for the most part, but when I feel disrespectful, I don’t like that at all, and that’s probably what I take the wrong way.
The best or best thing is that you always learn something new. On the one hand, because the weather is constantly changing, and then, over time, the experience teaches you several things, and you always learn something new, which gives you the strength to continue. On the other hand, meteorology is a science that is quite alive, advances are made, and you must always be up-to-date and keep working on the changes that take place, which gives you strength and taste and pleasure.