A tool for climate resilience and to face tomorrow’s changes
During the summer period of this 2023 – from June to September – a pilot test of an alert system for high temperatures and heat waves has been implemented, aimed at informing citizens of the metropolitan area of Barcelona about the risk of high temperatures, particularly aimed at users in vulnerable situations. The objective? To provide tools to adapt and better cope with the heat at home.
This is an action carried out within the framework of the Cooltorise summer energy poverty project, funded by the European Union’s H2020 program and in which the ABD and Ecoserveis Associations participate.
The alert system works based on local weather forecasts and is programmed to be activated on days with temperatures forecast to be above 33.5ºC during the day, or above 25ºC minimum at night (so-called torrid nights). In these cases, the protocols for sending messages containing household tips to combat the heat, as well as relevant information about the services offered by the city to deal with high temperatures (such as the Climate Shelter Network, PAEs, etc.) are activated.
Very positive results
The device implemented this summer has allowed messages warning about heat waves to be sent to a database of more than 3,000 people , delivering a total of nearly fifteen thousand emails.
The messages have been very well received. On average, 36.18% of the people who received the messages have read them, indicating that, in each alert, more than 1,000 people have been able to benefit from the information provided by the service.
Of the information sent, the link that has had the most queries through the alert system has been the one referring to the Climate Shelter Network , especially when the alert for the mid-August heat wave was sent.
An evaluation survey in which more than 200 families participated analyzed the satisfaction of users of the alert system. 84% of respondents considered that the system had been useful for them to adapt and face summer heat waves.
How hot has it been this summer?
While it is true that temperatures have not been as high as in the summer of 2022, it can be stated that the summer of 2023 has also presented temperatures above the climate average.
Of note would be the night of August 23, 2023, when the temperature did not drop below 29.5 °C in Barcelona. According to the Fabra Observatory, this would have been the historical record for minimum temperature in the last 100 years.
Below, we share a collection of the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded by the Fabra Observatory during this year’s summer period. The graph shows the high temperatures recorded:
An opportunity to tackle climate change in urban areas
The Cooltorise project’s climate alert system has allowed a new service for climate adaptation and resilience for families and citizens of Barcelona to be tested. This experience has had very positive results that pave the way for further developing tools that empower citizens with decisive information to combat the effects of climate change in the Catalan capital. It is therefore hoped that tools like these can be implemented in other municipalities for their use to the benefit of citizens and groups in situations of vulnerability.
For more information about the alert system and other summer energy poverty mitigation activities carried out by the Cooltorise project, you can consult the website: https://cooltorise.eu/
