The exceptional heat wave of the first half of October in the Canary Islands, the longest lasting in 60 years outside the summer period, according to the State Meteorological Agency, which sent thermometers above 35 degrees on all the islands, without exception, has set off alarms about the lack of infrastructure in the Archipelago prepared to deal with global warming that is stepping on the accelerator. The most obvious example has been the suspension of classes for the first time in schools and institutes on the 11th and 13th due to high temperatures.
But this anomalous thermal episode has also revealed the deficit of conditioned spaces that serve, at a given moment, to protect the population against extreme temperatures in cities, towns and neighborhoods, where this phenomenon is aggravated by the so-called “island effect.” “heat”, that is, the accumulation of radiation during the day in the asphalt and concrete and its release at night, which further increases the sensation of sultry.
More and more cities are opting for climate shelters, which are outdoor spaces, such as parks and boulevards with abundant vegetation and fountains, or indoor public facilities, such as refrigerated sports centers or educational centers open in summer, where citizens, and especially the most vulnerable population, can take shelter from the stifling heat and the direct action of the sun. Although the concept is still incipient, cities like Barcelona, with 227 public spaces where you can cool off (including museums and libraries), and Bilbao, with 130 (including several shopping centers), are leading the way in the face of the climate crisis. It is one of the emergency responses to prevent the heat from transforming cities into uninhabitable places.
In the south of Tenerife, where, as this newspaper has already reported, neighborhood associations, environmental organizations and architects demand “more trees, awnings and pergolas and less cement” in squares, pedestrian walkways and sidewalks, some steps are being taken, but still insufficient for a region with a high population (fixed and floating) and so many hours of sunshine per year.
One of the great plant shields against global warming will be the Adeje Central Park, a unique productive forest in the Canary Islands of more than 30,000 square meters that will bring together 25,000 plant species. It is, today, the most ambitious urban commitment of these characteristics in Tenerife, which will act as a carbon sink to reduce polluting emissions and will offer visitors a large botanical garden with a 290 cubic meter lagoon, wetlands, trees and palm trees.
Other notable climate shelter projects in the south of the Island will be the two parks of 25,000 square meters each of the partial plan of El Mojón, in Arona, which will become public spaces once they are received by the City Council; the sustainable park of Piedra Hincada (Guía de Isora), with photovoltaic panels for supply, which will allow the enjoyment of the natural environment through vegetation and water through ditches and a large pond, or the edible forest of Huerta Grande, in Vilaflor de Chasna, an abandoned agricultural property that covers an area of 23,500 square meters and that will become a garden in which organic farming will be the main protagonist, in line with the strategy set by the United Nations to promote green spaces that contribute to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere and generate food resources.
But, in addition to the new lungs that will help breathe cleaner air in the south of Tenerife, the region needs to expand its climate shelters. More and more voices are being heard demanding new urban shaded areas, citizens who wonder how it is possible for playgrounds to be installed without a simple tree, a pergola or a tent that provides some shade in places where the sun shines all day long. day. They are the same citizens who remind public administrations that preparing these spaces is not an expense but an investment in health.
In this sense, we must remember that, according to a study by the Barcelona Global Health Institute (ISGlobal) published in the journal Nature Medicine, last year 11,300 deaths were recorded attributable to high temperatures in Spain.
Although experts maintain that in the medium and long term a global strategy should be planned to achieve cooling in cities, no one is hiding the fact that measures such as climate shelters, beyond looking for a soda in a shopping center (far away, for example), true, of the neighborhoods), are part of the solution to provide an immediate response to the climate emergency. The last heat wave has reminded us of this again.
