The city of Seville, in southern Spain, is preparing to become the first city in the world to name and classify heat waves, in an effort to educate people about dealing with the heat that intensifies significantly in the summer.
According to the British newspaper, The Guardian, the pilot project, which extends for a year, will take place in Seville, one of the most free cities in Spain, and will divide the waves into 3 categories.
The list of proposed names for heat waves in Seville includes Chiña and Wenceslau, while it is customary to give names to hurricanes and tropical storms.
This initiative is part of a package of measures adopted in Seville to curb emissions and address carbon and climate change, according to the city’s mayor, Antonio Munoz.
“We are the first city in the world to take this step that will help us plan and take action when weather-related incidents occur, especially as heat waves often hit the most vulnerable people,” the Spanish official said.
The announcement of this program comes after Spain experienced record early heat waves in the current world, while the country witnessed the warmest month of May in 58 years.
And the country’s government weather authority warned that the frequency of heat waves in Spain has doubled compared to the situation in previous decades.
The temperature sometimes rises in Seville to more than 40 degrees Celsius, and the city is located 100 miles from the town of Montoro, which last year recorded the hottest year in the country’s history, when it touched 47.4 degrees Celsius.