Barcelona shatters 112-year heat record as study reveals stark cooling inequality between rich and poor

Record heat in Catalonia

Barcelona recorded 40.9°C on Wednesday, the highest temperature in 112 years of data, as a series of heatwaves continues to grip Catalonia, Spain and much of continental Europe. The European Earth observation programme Copernicus has linked the succession of extreme heat episodes, in May, late June and early July, to severe health repercussions, including premature deaths.

We have cities designed for a climate that no longer exists. And we need to get a move on.

Health toll and mortality

Spain's Ministry of Health estimates 27,564 deaths attributable to high temperatures between 2015 and 2025, with mortality rising between 9.1% and 10.7% for each degree above the risk threshold. The World Health Organization puts heat-related deaths in Europe at around 63,000 in 2024 and warns of a sharp increase. In Catalonia alone, 1,772 people died from heat in 2022, the hottest European summer on record; 1,327 of those deaths occurred in the province of Barcelona.

The inequality behind the numbers

A study by the Institut de Recerca Urbana de Barcelona (IDRA) for the Barcelona Provincial Council finds that heat mortality is deeply tied to social class. The most common victim profile is an older woman with pre-existing conditions, living alone in a low-income neighbourhood without air conditioning. The report notes a 56% higher likelihood that the vulnerable person is female.

Access to cooling systems mirrors income: only 38.9% of households earning under €1,000 per month have any form of cooling, while the figure reaches 71.2% for those above €3,000. The provincial average stands at 57.2%.

The ability to protect oneself from heat is very unequal.

Calls for structural change

The IDRA report urges guaranteed access to cooling for the most vulnerable, elderly low-income people living alone, as well as health centres, care homes and schools. It also calls for a national law on extreme heat protection, a Provincial Climate Fund financed by taxing the most polluting sectors, and a public system of heat and climate inequality indicators. Martínez criticised that part of the energy transition aid benefits those who already have the economic capacity to invest, and pointed to a lack of climate shelters in poorer neighbourhoods.

Experts argue that heat must be treated as a structural public health emergency, not merely a summer discomfort, with prevention, budgets and action protocols similar to those for other public risks.