Spain is setting up a nationwide network of climate shelters ahead of next summer, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Wednesday.
A series of government buildings will offer people refuge from the increasingly intense heatwaves the country has been experiencing during the hottest months of the year.
The network will incorporate climate shelters that have already been set up in Barcelona and the Basque Country.
Heatwaves are ‘the new normal’ in Spain
At a conference on Wednesday, Sanchez detailed the country’s plan to address the growing severity of climate change through 80 initiatives.
The measures cover issues such as flooding, wildfires, and false information on climate change, alongside rising temperatures.
“Devastating droughts and heatwaves are no longer rare. Some summers, it’s not separate waves we face, but one long heatwave stretching from June through August. This is now the new normal,” he said.
In 2025, the country experienced its hottest summer on record. A 16-day heatwave in August saw temperatures top 45°C, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
The average temperature in Spain has risen by 1.69°C between 1961 and 2024, leading to more frequent episodes of above-normal temperatures.
Climate change is driving this rise in temperatures and the increasing occurrence of extreme heat events, as confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s analysis of global temperature trends.
Spain is building a national network of climate shelters
The new climate shelters will provide spaces for people across the country to stay cool next summer.
These are particularly vital in urban areas. “The heat island effect is intensified in these heatwaves and usually happens in cities,” data scientist Manuel Banza told Euronews Green.
“This is because we have cities that are densely built, and we have a lot of tarmac that absorbs the sun, and at the end of the day, we see that at six or seven in the evening, it’s still possible to be very hot, even though it’s no longer sunny, because the ground has absorbed it.”
The government will make funds available for those in areas “that need them most, where the heat really hits people the hardest,” Sanchez said.
The network will build on schemes already established by regional governments, including in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Murcia.
In Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, about 400 climate shelters are already available in public buildings like libraries, museums, sports centres and shopping malls.
These spaces, which are air-conditioned and usually equipped with seating and free water, are designed as places of refuge from the heat, particularly for the elderly, babies, those with health issues and those who lack resources at home to cope with high temperatures.
According to Spain’s daily mortality surveillance system (MoMo), more than 21,700 people died from heat-related causes between 2015 and 2023, most of them over 65 years of age.
This summer, more than 3,800 heat-related deaths were recorded – 88 per cent more than in 2024 – according to estimates by the Ministry of Health.