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亞將在世界上開 啟給熱浪命名和分級的先例，命名方式和熱帶 風暴或颶風差不多，目的是在酷熱天氣越來越 頻繁的情況下更好地保護居民的安全。

這項在西班牙最熱城市之一開展的長達 一年的試點項目將把熱浪分為三級，從包括齊 妮亞和溫塞斯拉斯的一個名單中挑選名字。

塞維利亞市長安東尼奧·穆諾茲表示，這 項計劃是以對抗氣候變化為目標、從減排到脫 碳等一系列更廣泛措施的一部分。

穆諾茲上周在一份聲明中指出：“我們是 世界上第一個在這種氣象事件發(fā)生時采取有 助于制定應對計劃措施的城市，特別是因為熱 浪對弱勢人群的危害往往最大?！?/p>

這一先驅(qū)項目啟動前幾天，西班牙剛剛經(jīng) 歷了有史以來最早的一波熱浪天氣，今年五月 的高溫也創(chuàng)下了58年之最。西班牙國家氣象 局Aemet的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，西班牙熱浪的頻率相比 前幾十年翻了一番。

塞維利亞的氣溫經(jīng)常飆升至40攝氏度以

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，距離該市約100英里的蒙托羅鎮(zhèn)去年最高 溫達到了47.4攝氏度，創(chuàng)下了西班牙有史以來 的最高氣溫。

這一試點項目的核心是一個最早能提前 五天預測熱浪的算法，該算法可基于對人類 健康的潛在影響和致命性對熱浪進行分級。 每一個級別都將與具體措施相關(guān)聯(lián)，比如開 放市立游泳池，或安排醫(yī)務人員上門給老人 或其他風險人群做檢查。

達到第三級（程度最嚴重）的熱浪將按照 西班牙字母表的降序來命名。前五個名字已 經(jīng)被選好：佐伊、亞戈、齊妮亞、溫塞斯拉斯和 維加。

該項目是和艾德麗安·阿什特-洛克菲勒 基金會復原力中心共同發(fā)起的，該中心致力 于同氣候?qū)W家、社會行為科學家和公共衛(wèi)生 專家一起增強應對氣候變化的復原力。

該中心在墨爾本和希臘等地與其他 7 個 城市合作推進給熱浪分級的類似計劃，不過 塞維利亞是迄今為止唯一出臺熱浪命名計劃 的城市。

在去年十月宣布試點計劃時，阿什特-洛 克菲勒基金會復原力中心的凱西·鮑曼·麥克 勞德在一份聲明中稱，他們的目標是增強人 們對氣候變化致命影響的意識并避免可能發(fā) 生的死亡。

鮑曼·麥克勞德指出：“熱浪一直被稱為 ‘沉默的殺手是有原因的。熱浪會對我們的 經(jīng)濟造成看不見的巨大破壞，危害社會上最 弱勢的群體，而且比其他任何氣候災害殺死 的人都要多，然而熱浪的危險性卻被嚴重低 估和誤解了?！?/p>