Seville To Name And Classify Heatwaves In Effort To Protect Public

李元熙

The southern Spanish city of Seville is to become the first in the world to name and classify heatwaves — much in the way that tropical storms or hurricanes are named — in an effort to better shield residents as periods of excessively hot weather become more frequent.

The year-long pilot project in one of Spains hottest cities will classify heatwaves into three categories and named from a list that include Xenia and Wenceslao.

The initiative is part of a broader set of measures，from emissions reductions to decarbonisation，aimed at countering climate change，said the citys mayor，Antonio Mu?oz.

“We are the first city in the world to take a step that will help us plan and take measures when this type of meteorological event happens — particularly because heatwaves always hit the most vulnerable，”Mu?oz noted in a statement last week.

The pioneering programme comes days after Spain sweltered through one of its earliest heatwaves on record and after a May that ranked as the hottest in 58 years. The frequency of heatwaves in Spain has doubled compared with previous decades，according to state meteorological agency Aemet.

Seville，where temperatures often climb above 40C，is

西班牙南部城市塞維利亚将在世界上开 启给热浪命名和分级的先例，命名方式和热带 风暴或飓风差不多，目的是在酷热天气越来越 频繁的情况下更好地保护居民的安全。

这项在西班牙最热城市之一开展的长达 一年的试点项目将把热浪分为三级，从包括齐 妮亚和温塞斯拉斯的一个名单中挑选名字。

塞维利亚市长安东尼奥·穆诺兹表示，这 项计划是以对抗气候变化为目标、从减排到脱 碳等一系列更广泛措施的一部分。

穆诺兹上周在一份声明中指出：“我们是 世界上第一个在这种气象事件发生时采取有 助于制定应对计划措施的城市，特别是因为热 浪对弱势人群的危害往往最大。”

这一先驱项目启动前几天，西班牙刚刚经 历了有史以来最早的一波热浪天气，今年五月 的高温也创下了58年之最。西班牙国家气象 局Aemet的数据显示，西班牙热浪的频率相比 前几十年翻了一番。

塞维利亚的气温经常飙升至40摄氏度以

about 100 miles from the town of Montoro where the mercury last year climbed to Spains highest-ever temperature at 47.4C.

Central to the pilot is an algorithm that will forecast heatwaves up to five days in advance and categorise them based on the potential impact on human health and mortality. Each category will be tied to specific measures such as the opening of municipal swimming pools or sending health workers to check on elderly or other at-risk individuals.

Heatwaves that reach category 3— the most severe — will be named in descending order of the Spanish alphabet. The first five names have already been chosen：Zoe，Yago， Xenia，Wenceslao，Vega

The project is being launched in conjunction with the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Centre，or Arsht-Rock，which focuses on building resilience in the face of climate change，along with climatologists，social and behavioural scientists and public health experts.

The centre is working with seven other cities， in including Melbourne and Greece， on similar plans to categorise or rank heatwaves，though Seville is so far the only city with plans to name heatwaves

The aim is to build awareness of the deadly impact of climate change and potentially save lives， said Kathy Baughman McLeod of Arsht-Rock in an October statement as plans for the pilot were announced.

“Heatwaves，have been dubbed‘the silent killerfor a reason，”said Baughman McLeod.“They wreak unseen havoc on our economies，prey on the most vulnerable members of society，and kill more people than any other climate- driven hazard，yet the dangers they pose are grossly underestimated and gravely misunderstood.”

上，距离该市约100英里的蒙托罗镇去年最高 温达到了47.4摄氏度，创下了西班牙有史以来 的最高气温。

这一试点项目的核心是一个最早能提前 五天预测热浪的算法，该算法可基于对人类 健康的潜在影响和致命性对热浪进行分级。 每一个级别都将与具体措施相关联，比如开 放市立游泳池，或安排医务人员上门给老人 或其他风险人群做检查。

达到第三级（程度最严重）的热浪将按照 西班牙字母表的降序来命名。前五个名字已 经被选好：佐伊、亚戈、齐妮亚、温塞斯拉斯和 维加。

该项目是和艾德丽安·阿什特-洛克菲勒 基金会复原力中心共同发起的，该中心致力 于同气候学家、社会行为科学家和公共卫生 专家一起增强应对气候变化的复原力。

该中心在墨尔本和希腊等地与其他 7 个 城市合作推进给热浪分级的类似计划，不过 塞维利亚是迄今为止唯一出台热浪命名计划 的城市。

在去年十月宣布試点计划时，阿什特-洛 克菲勒基金会复原力中心的凯西·鲍曼·麦克 劳德在一份声明中称，他们的目标是增强人 们对气候变化致命影响的意识并避免可能发 生的死亡。

鲍曼·麦克劳德指出：“热浪一直被称为 ‘沉默的杀手是有原因的。热浪会对我们的 经济造成看不见的巨大破坏，危害社会上最 弱势的群体，而且比其他任何气候灾害杀死 的人都要多，然而热浪的危险性却被严重低 估和误解了。”