How to survive heatwaves in the city

Every year summers are hotter and heat waves more frequent, with cities suffering most. A network of climate shelters in Barcelona isn’t only making people more comfortable, it’s also saving lives.

A quick clarification: The temperature on screen for Brazil at 8:04 refers to the perceived temperature. The actual high was 42 C.

#planeta #heatwaves #climateshelter

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

Credits:
Author: Amanda Coulson-Drasner
Camera: Henning Goll
Graphics: Adam Baheej Adada
Supervising Editor: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Fact check: Jeannette Cwienk

Read more:
Climate shelter network Barcelona:

Dr. Ana Terra Amorim-Maia paper on climate shelter network:

Record temperatures for half the world’s population:

Future heat:

Heat action plans in India:

Heatwave in the Sahel:

Rio at 62ºC:

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Climate shelter background
04:22 Adaptations in climate shelters
07:16 Other adaptations
07:42 Global issue
08:51 Vulnerable populations
10:37 Conclusion

[Anirossa]

We gone from we must stop global warming to 10 fun tips to not die from a heat stroke, a little too fast for my liking.

[Christopher-crpw]

If you really want to lower Temps in cities grow more trees since trees will release extra water.

[bonsaimoldova]

That second type of community shelters when people goes to have a drink in a cool space solve the problem only for humans, when the first type with trees and shade solve the problem also for other living creatures.

[BlackWater_]

You've made an error with your temperature numbers in Fahrenheit.

E.g. while an absolute temperature of 5°C is indeed 41°F, a _difference_ of 5°C is only 9°F difference since ±1°C = ±1.8°F or in other words any one degree step in Celsius equals a step of 1.8 degrees in Fahrenheit.

In short: America should finally adopt the metric system.

[freeheeler]

One of the big changes we are seeing is hot nights! We never used to run our cooling system at night. We’d run the house fan and bring in the cool night air. No longer. And we live in the country, surrounded by ranch land and forests, not in a hot city full of concrete. Our main mitigation has been to install solar. Our for profit electricity provider is very corrupt, so we pay incredibly high prices for electricity. Our next step is to buy batteries and perhaps go off grid, to starve our corrupt, electricity cartel!

[WaqarAslam]

This video is more about climate shelters. It doesn't tell us how to survive heat waves in a city or what precautions we should take during a heat wave.

[SonnyDarvishzadeh]

Can we get rid of asphalted roads inside cities and redesign it with more trees, for pedestrians, cyclists and only emergencies services? Build wider bike paths to encourage people to buy cargo bikes instead, improve public transportation efficiency, capacity and accessibility. Also, for households, Passive House is a German concept that isn't applied in most places. Buildings in Germany are being built only for winters. I just moved in as a the first tenant in 2024 and my apartment has no cooling features, other than I should close the roller shutters like the rest of the country. There are so many methods to incorporate, but we don't see anyone taking action.

[samuxan]

Air temperature is just part of the story. The heat is a bigger problem when humidity is high and that's what happens in barcelona. A few years ago I was there with 33ºC and 85% humidity and almost die waiting for the train while back home with over 36º it was manageable because it was drier. The solutions shown here are great but don't really help with the humidity issue

[effyelvira]

around 7:15 there is a mistake in the C to F conversion. a 5 C gradient is not a 41 F gradient

[chefnyc]

4:01 “10 degrees celcius” hotter means “18 degrees Fahrenheit” hotter. When you work with relative values, you ignore the 32.

[veggieboyultimate]

Green spaces and climate shelters could be the biggest solutions to this problem

[hopepaasa]

Trees absorb a lot of carbon dioxide in the air. Also they create shade and also raise humidity in the surrounding area

[kikeb]

In spain, Barcelona is not the worse, however have already high humidity, so it is not easy reduce temperature increasing humidity, they make a good started but i consider that the city should focus more in the street than on the shelters

[greendsnow]

It's gonna get hotter than this???
Ugh!
There must be a way to store this heat and use it in winter.
DW Planet! Is this feasible?

[siemdecleyn]

Lot's of solar energy available in Barcelona. It should be possible to have accessible public spaces with AC.

[PigMeanHater]

You got me something new here for the first time in what feels like 30 plus the thumbnail and thought this was gone be about beating somethin here I am...CLIMATE change IS REAL, and I'll be tellug every one I know from now on (except the hogs that upend my rare flower collection night after night. we are not on speaking terms (

[geralldus]

It seems significant that there is a gradual growing acceptance of extreme heat rather than a perception that much can be really done to prevent it.

[DieNibelungenliad]

Wind, water, shade, insulation, convection, and relaxation; that's what you need to beat the heat.
Interestingly, old cottages may be the key to passive cooling. The thatched roof gives shade to the inside, and its eaves shade some of the outside of the house. They catch and keep water, letting them vaporize when its hot out, which cools the place. Green plants hanging on and covering the walls do the same thing. The tall roof allows warm air to rise and slowly go through the thatched roof, vaporizing the moisture. Mud walls, be they cob, daub, or adobe, insulate the place. That is, it catches the heat when it's warm out and releases the heat during a cold night. It also catches moisture that vaporizes when it's warm to cool the place. The walls are whitewashed outside, which reflects the heat out of the house. Small windows only have wooden shutters, which can be opened to let in the breeze and let out hot air, as well as closed to stop sunlight coming in from a particular direction. The chimney, when there's no fire, acts as a solar chimney, that is, it gets warmed up by the sun and uses convection to let the warm air inside it to rise out, which creates suction to draw air from inside the house, thus also creating a breeze within. Doors are often half doors, so the top half can be opened to let more breeze in and heat out and can be closed entirely to keep sunlight out.
Such a cottage was small, allowing a small breeze to cool more of the house, and there was only one room with no partition, allowing any breeze to flow freely inside. Flowers in the garden and in clay pots within would add a sweet scent to the breeze. The dirt floor (earthen floor) and the kitchen garden around the house would also catch and keep moisture to release as water vapour when it's warm. The breeze picks up water vapours to cool the area.
Beds were linen sacs of hay or chaff, which reflected rather than kept heat, keeping them cooler to touch. Woven rush mats laid over some of the dirt floor, which reflect heat away and kept moisture on them to vaporize easily. Stool seats and chairs were short and made of wood and rush.
Of course, it helps being barefoot, wearing flowing linen or cotton clothes, and keeping one's bedstead and seats short as the cooler air is closer to the floor

[lawrenceheyman]

Winter where I live, Melbourne, but last summer when the temperature exceeded 35 Celsius, the pool I go to regularly was free.
Lots of Australians go to the malls or movies.
But none of these work on very hot nights. I'd also like to hear solutions for that.

[Deescizzle]

We'd probably never have something like this in the US. These people actually care about their people