Responses to climate change
Heat waves are the meteorological phenomenon with the greatest impact on people’s lives. Far above any other natural disaster. The majority of the population is not aware of this fact, which means that the importance of extreme heat and the seriousness of its consequences both socially and economically are not appreciated.
The proMETEO Seville Project was created in response to one of the greatest challenges posed by climate change today: the increase in heat waves.
The proMETEO Seville Project is currently a pilot project with two objectives: to raise public awareness of the importance of heat waves and their impact on health and to promote the implementation of measures to minimize this impact on people’s lives.
How to achieve these objectives?
The proMETEO Project has chosen the city of Seville to experimentally launch a pioneering initiative that consists of classifying and naming the heat waves that occur in our territory. Something that is already done with other meteorological phenomena such as hurricanes, tornadoes or storms.
A pilot experience
To this end, a pilot experience is being launched that will test the feasibility of implementing a warning system for one year to warn of the arrival of a heat wave and its possible effects on health.
The proMETEO project is a pioneering strategy in which the city of Seville will classify and name heat waves according to their impact on people’s health in order to raise awareness of the danger of extreme heat and advance in the implementation of prevention and protection measures for citizens.
By categorizing heat waves according to their level of impact on health and naming those that may pose a greater risk, citizens will be able to take effective measures to protect themselves against extreme heat. It is also a first step for administrations to work on resilience to heat waves. That is to say, to take measures so that they have the least possible impact on people’s daily lives and on strategic sectors for the economy.
