A study examines the Spanish experience with climate shelters as an example for the world

A scientific team including members from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has authored a comment article in the Nature Climate Change journal on how to use climate shelters to protect the population from extreme heat, with a particular focus on Spain.

In addition to the UOC, the other institutions participating in the publication, which was led by the Spanish National Research Council's Galicia Biological Mission, are the Spanish Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies, the Basque Centre for Climate Change, the Georiesgos group at the University of La Laguna, the Climatology Group at the University of Barcelona, and the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona.

"Heat causes around 500,000 deaths a year worldwide, which makes it the deadliest environmental hazard. So as extreme temperature events become more frequent, intense and prolonged due to climate change, ensuring heat relief has become imperative for local governments, especially those covering the most vulnerable areas and populations. Against this backdrop, climate shelters are becoming critical aspects of urban adaptation strategies," explained the research team, which included Elvira Jiménez Navarro, a doctoral student with the New Perspectives in Tourism & Leisure (NOUTUR) and Sustainability, Management and Transport (SUMAT) research groups at the UOC.

The authors of the research explained that "in order to offer a well-founded reflection on this subject, which is of significant scientific interest and social importance, we have produced a comment with a scientific perspective in order to clarify the debate and contextualize this research." The text, which is available in open access format, examines how the Spanish experience in climate shelters can contribute to a global debate on how to protect the population from extreme heat.

"Climate shelters are becoming increasingly popular as a means of adapting to extreme temperatures, and they must meet certain technical, social and governance requirements in order to be effective," said Elvira Jiménez, who is producing her thesis under the supervision of the professors Pere Suau and Francesc González, of the UOC-DIGIT research centre.

Barcelona, a pioneering model

"Spain, with Barcelona playing a pioneering role, has developed one of the most advanced networks of climate shelters in the world, with principles that can be extrapolated to different regions and environments. This experience has shown that climate shelters can be a powerful tool for reducing exposure to heat, but only if they are consolidated as stable, accessible services designed to meet real needs, and not as occasional measures," explained the authors, also noting that "when designing them it is essential to take into account environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed in the outdoor spaces, as well as the passive cooling capacity of buildings in indoor shelters."

"In Spain, the summer of 2025 was the warmest on record and the country experienced more than 15,000 heat-related deaths, the second highest total ever recorded. More than 10,000 of those deaths were linked to prolonged exposure to moderately high temperatures, which have effects that build up even in the absence of heat alerts. This underlines the need for networks of shelters that provide reliable protection during prolonged heat stress, and not just during episodes of intense heat."

The authors examine examples of evolving climate shelter networks in Spain, including good practices and areas for improvement in the dimensions of climate, people and health, and governance with organizations including the Spanish Climate Change Office (OECC), the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate, the Government of the Valencian Community, the Government of the Canary Islands and Barcelona City Council.

Different uses

"Shelters can host cultural, recreational and social activities, provide spaces for working, studying or resting during extreme weather events and act as community resilience centres, as well as being just emergency facilities. Accessibility standards, free admission, long opening hours and decent conditions are crucial. Operational success depends on integration between heat alerts, public health management and the provision of shelters," the authors said.

According to their article, local governments are usually primarily responsible for creating and maintaining climate shelter networks, but their success depends on a network of committed, coordinated and empowered actors.

"What we have seen here can inspire other countries, but each territory must adapt climate shelters to its own climate, vulnerability patterns and its culture of the public space. There is no single model; what is essential is to guarantee climate justice and citizen participation," the experts added, "although if shelters are implemented, strategies have to be adapted to local vulnerabilities, institutional capacities and diverse socio-economic conditions."

The team highlights three aspects for focusing the design and expansion of these networks: knowledge of the local climate, operational integration with public health systems, and the consolidation of governance models that prioritize equity and institutional collaboration.

"Government bodies must reinforce their technical and economic support for these networks. The current response to extreme heat is often reactive and ad hoc, but this must be changed with continuous planning that includes climate, social, health and governance aspects. "This is the only way in which climate shelters can be consolidated as infrastructures providing protection, care and long-term urban resilience," they concluded.

"More study and practice are required. First, knowledge is currently shared sporadically, and guidelines are adopted to a limited extent; there is little empirical evidence on the real effectiveness of climate shelters in Spain, which makes it difficult to scale up Spanish pilot projects. Second, we still need to transfer context-specific lessons to different environments, taking into account local needs, resources, and traditions related to the use of public and private space. The effectiveness of climate shelter networks depends on local governance, regulatory and institutional support, and participation by the community, sustainable financing, and appropriate resource management. Third, in terms of the future, it is essential to understand who is vulnerable, to what and why."

According to Elvira Jiménez, a researcher at the UOC on the doctoral degree programme in Tourism, "the analysis is particularly interesting for tourist destinations, since in addition to protecting and ensuring the well-being of the resident population, it can improve heat relief for visitors."

This research falls within the UOC's research missions on Planetary health and well-being and Digital transition and sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being; and SDG 13, Climate Action.

Related article

Royé, D., Amorim‑Maia, A. T., Jiménez‑Navarro, E., López‑Díez, A., Tobías, A., Martín‑Vide, J. and Olazabal, M. (2026). Pioneering Spanish experience in climate shelters practice. Nature Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02587-z

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