Seville becomes the first major city in the world to categorize and name heat waves
Spain: The city of Seville, Spain has announced plans to become the
first major city in the world to start naming and categorizing heat waves, the
same way tropical storms and hurricanes are named in other parts of the world.
The effort is set to begin in 2022
The city's mayor, Juan Espadas, said in a statement on
Monday that he's proud that Seville, located in one of the hottest regions of
Spain, is the first city to start naming and categorizing heat waves. He hopes
other cities in the world also take on the idea.
"Extreme heat waves are becoming more frequent and
devastating as a direct effect from climate change. Local governments should
address the threat heat poses to our populations, particularly the most
vulnerable, by raising awareness of heat-health related hazards through
evidence based data and science, Espadas said.
In order to come up with the system, the city is
collaborating with the Atlantic Council, Spain's meteorological agency, the
Spanish Agency for Climate Change and two universities.
The group says the system of categorizing heat waves will be
based on their impact on human health. Doing so will also help the city's
emergency and disaster planning — if a heat wave is ranked as particularly hot
and dangerous, categorizing it as so could lead the city to open more air
conditioned shelters or add extra staff in hospital emergency rooms.
As climate change worsens, heat waves have become far more
prevalent around the world, and disproportionately impact people of color.
In the United States, heat is the biggest weather-related
killer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This past summer,
about 800 people are thought to have died in the heat wave that struck the
Pacific Northwest.
This story has not been edited by Blueplanet staff and is
published from a syndicated feed
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