Among the municipal facilities that act as climate shelters until September 15 there are libraries, local facilities in the city’s neighborhoods and districts, municipal sports centers, parks and gardens, schools and museums. Although they will maintain their usual uses, they can be used as spaces to take refuge from high temperatures.
It is recommended to maintain a set temperature of 27º and they are aimed, above all, at people vulnerable to heat, such as babies, people over 75 years of age, the chronically ill or people with few resources. They have good accessibility, rest areas and water, and are safe. On the other hand, they are not indicated for people who require medical attention. In this case, you must go to the corresponding health center.
A climate refuge ten minutes from home
There are weather shelters scattered throughout the city. With this year’s figure, 97% of the citizens of Barcelona have one less than a ten minute walk from home, and 58% have it even closer, just 5 minutes from home. Even so, work continues to expand the number of facilities prepared and activated to offer, year after year, equitable and socially fair territorial coverage to guarantee that the entire neighborhood has spaces five minutes from home, prioritizing neighborhoods with less coverage and with the most vulnerable population.
In 2021 the number of spaces was 197, and now there are 30 more: 227. Among the new spaces, the patios of eight bressol schools have been incorporated as climate shelters (within the framework of the “Bressol Schools for the Climate” strategy ), the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) and the libraries of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
Services activated to protect people from heat
In addition to activating the network of climate refuge spaces, the different social services of the city, led by the Emergency and Social Emergencies Center of Barcelona (CUESB), are ready to respond to situations of sudden vulnerability that may occur in the city due to excessive heat.
Prevention protocols foresee different levels of danger depending on the temperatures. The Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) monitors cases of heat stroke that may occur, while the CUESB acts as a reference in the event that the rise in temperatures forces the preventive phase to be raised to a phase alert or emergency, which is the situation of maximum risk for people.
In the most risky scenario, the CUESB plans to transfer vulnerable people to climate shelters if necessary and, if necessary, the CUESB would be activated as a place to spend the night for people who are highly frail.
More than 1,700 fountains to drink water
In the city there are more than 1,700 fountains that offer drinking water to the public. The Fonts BCN municipal application allows you to check the location of all the fountains in the city and see which one is closest to where you are.
Shadow all over town
Apart from climate shelters, the city offers many shady outdoor spaces, such as photovoltaic pergolas, about twenty, with living spaces.
In addition, in the city there are 183 children’s play areas with shade most of the day during the summer months, in addition to others in which work is being done to equip them with seasonal awning systems, which are put up and removed. The creation of ephemeral shadows in public spaces is the new challenge for BIT Habitat, which seeks innovative solutions of a temporary, modular and sustainable nature that contribute to reducing heat and improving thermal comfort conditions in public spaces. The reception of projects is open until July 14.
Tips to deal with high temperatures
In the event of a heat wave, follow the safety recommendations:
