The heat is eating away at Barcelona's schools. Using thermal imaging cameras, high temperatures in the Catalan capital's educational centers have been recorded, and the results are unsustainable: over 31 degrees inside classrooms, with a minimum not dropping below 29. On the playgrounds, the areas around the basketball hoops and goalposts register over 50 degrees. This is what Greenpeace denounces, after visiting six schools and institutes across the country to confirm the extreme temperatures endured by children and adolescents.

Rising temperatures in the context of a climate emergency, faster than scientists had predicted, are triggering a race to adapt cities. One of the challenges is to create the maximum number of climate shelters, mostly public spaces (libraries, museums, community centers, community centers) designed to protect the most vulnerable during times of extreme heat. As shelters, they must maintain a maximum temperature of 27 degrees, be easily accessible, have chairs or benches for sitting, and provide free water. However, they do not offer medical care, a service guaranteed only in health centers.

Temperatures reached their peak this Monday. At the height of the second heat wave of the summer in our country, temperatures have already surpassed the levels reached during the first, which occurred in early July, and for the first time this year, temperatures have exceeded 43°C in Catalonia. Specifically, in Vinebre, temperatures reached 43.8°C, which is not only the highest maximum temperature this summer but also the highest heat record in the 27 years of data from this Meteocat meteorological station.

If there's one conversation that's been on everyone's mind these past few weeks, it's about the heat. In Catalonia, temperatures have broken all records this June, resulting in tropical nights and sweltering days. In fact, according to a study by the German company Fischer, which specializes in technical solutions for building fastening, insulation, and energy efficiency, one in five Spaniards feels unsafe in their home during heat waves, and this figure rises to one in three for families with babies.