Portugal urged to create air-conditioned rooms during heatwaves

Susana Viegas, an environmental health specialist, said on Tuesday that Portugal should provide air-conditioned rooms where people can cool down during heatwaves, following the example already set by Spain.

Air-conditioned rooms during heatwaves in Portugal

“Providing air-conditioned spaces not only in urban areas but also in rural ones, where isolated older people could be taken to a place with a controlled temperature and some healthcare support, would be a measure to complement others,” the specialist said.

In an interview for the Lusa Extra podcast, Susana Viegas, who teaches on the Master’s programme in Environmental Health and Climate Change at NOVA University Lisbon’s National School of Public Health, highlighted “energy poverty”, which prevents people from cooling or heating their homes.

Energy poverty and urban heat islands

In cities, energy poverty has a different scale because of phenomena such as so-called “heat islands”, which worsen the effects of heatwaves.

“Buildings and tarmac radiate heat once they have warmed up, and it is known that temperatures can rise further during a heatwave scenario,” said the specialist. She added that local authorities should implement the recommendations made at European level: more green and more blue, through the creation of more parks and greater public access to riverside areas or spaces with water.

Regarding the choice of trees, she said that, to ensure shade reduces the heat radiated, native species with short pollination periods should be selected, stressing the need to “think about people who live with allergies”.

She also recalled that measures introduced by authorities during heatwaves should be delivered at municipal level, as recommended in Europe, with teams from environmental services, urban planning, park management and public health working together.

Heatwaves and hospital admissions

The specialist also warned about the effects of high temperatures on hospital admissions. A study in which she participated examined 20 years of heatwaves and found a 20% increase in hospital admissions. “There may be areas of the country where, because of the characteristics of the population, this increase could be higher,” she acknowledged.

The research found that the rise affected every type of illness, while children were the group most affected, particularly because of burns caused by contact with surfaces.

Susana Viegas also noted that heatwaves in May or June have a different effect on hospital admissions from those occurring in July or August, which are generally holiday periods.

“In May and June, children are at school and in the care of others, while we are at work and have less ability to manage the places we spend time in. In July and August, however, we are generally on holiday and can choose whether to stay at home, go to the beach or go somewhere with an air-conditioned environment. That allows the population to adapt more effectively,” she explained.