After the heat, investigate it... and act
She lives in Arrate Santurce with her husband Koldo. The apartment is old, a second floor without elevator and without air conditioning. They are retired and spend most of their time with their friends and grandchildren, Enaitz and Ainara. Grandchildren give work... and joy.
Pilar lives in Tetuan, a working-class neighborhood in the center of Madrid, now owned by immigrant workers. Harena is also an old apartment, but it is renovated and has air conditioning.
This summer has been hard, very hard, in both cities. There's a heat wave every year. Arrate and Pilar are happy that the cold heat has passed; in their neighborhoods the heat accumulates due to the “heat island” effect, which does not even allow them to sleep.
This year Pilar has passed the scorching August; the asphalt was on fire. I couldn't go anywhere if it was 11:00 in the morning. From that hour onwards, you can practically survive, slowly, with the blinds down, a couple of soft lights on and the air conditioning in continuous operation. So three weeks. In August, he hardly saw anyone in three weeks. In Madrid there are no souls left. He spent a lot of time on the phone. On the phone, on TV, on the radio and read something.
They live near the port of Arrate and Koldo, near the sea. This year, once again, the temperatures have been very high. In Santurce they reached 41 degrees, and add moisture to it. Because heat is not the same with or without moisture, and with or without pollution. In Santurce, pollution doesn’t come from decades ago. In Madrid, however, many people still die from pollution.
Koldo goes for a walk every morning. It takes time to get to the promenade you like: the shade, the trees and the banks, to look at the sea. On the way home, he always meets two homeless people and thinks: if I am hot, what will they have? !
Health and climate change research centers ask and analyze the following questions: what are the effects of heat on the health of the elderly? how have such heat waves affected our chronic diseases in our cities? and in our mental health? and in mortality?
We have been studying these topics for decades, although some still do not believe and continue to think that it is a story and that it has always been hot in Santurce and Madrid... And scientific studies confirm that yes, our cardiovascular diseases worsen and mental illnesses increase, and that heat is associated with increased mortality in Southern Europe.
Little by little, scientific evidence is being incorporated into political decisions. And scientists work with political decision-makers at different levels – European, national, regional and urban – and together we try to improve alarm and emergency systems, health and social services systems, adapt climate shelter networks, care for homeless people, adapt buildings and homes to high temperatures, and, in the face of “energy poverty”, offer them to pay for air conditioning.
After the heat, collaboration between science and political decisions will remain key. Investigate and take action: That´s the question!
Buletina
Bidali zure helbide elektronikoa eta jaso asteroko buletina zure sarrera-ontzian
