Spanish climate shelters put pressure on France to act

Paris – 21 July 2026: Spanish climate shelters are coming into focus in France as a possible model for adapting to more frequent heatwaves. These are publicly accessible indoor and outdoor spaces that are sufficiently cool, shaded and easy to reach during extreme heat. Libraries, cultural centres, schools, parks or landscaped squares can fulfil this function, provided that access, opening hours and information are reliably organised.

The approach therefore goes beyond the occasional opening of air-conditioned buildings. Municipalities are expected first to identify particularly affected neighbourhoods and vulnerable population groups, select suitable locations according to thermal and social criteria, and regulate their operation during heat events. A guide published at the end of June by the Spanish city network Red de Cis por el Clima describes the entire process, from mapping and municipal coordination to informing residents.

The Basque Country is particularly advanced. In 2026, the regional environmental company Ihobe presented technical criteria for municipal networks. It defines climate shelters as the use of existing indoor and outdoor areas offering thermal comfort and general access during heat periods. According to the Basque government, the scheme now includes nearly 500 such locations across the region. The model thus relies on local infrastructure rather than building a centralised system from scratch.

The public health context is significant. According to a recent specialist guide, around 12,596 deaths in Spain were attributed to heat in 2024. Such calculations capture statistically expected excess deaths and are not an individual cause-of-death statistic. Nevertheless, they underline that heat adaptation is not solely a matter of urban design, but also concerns social inequality, preventive healthcare and the provision of essential municipal services.

France does not yet have a unified national network based on the Spanish model. The third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, published on 10 March 2025, brings together measures through 2030 to protect the population from heatwaves, droughts, floods and other risks. Since 26 January 2026, the government’s reference pathway for climate adaptation has also been enshrined in environmental law. It is intended to align planning with future warming levels.

Comparable components are nevertheless emerging at the local level. In April 2026, the French environmental agency ADEME published a methodology for participatory mapping of climate shelters. The project was developed with Toulouse Métropole and is intended to help municipalities identify, assess and make publicly visible cool places that are actually used. The key factor is not temperature alone, but also barrier-free accessibility and public awareness of the available options.

Transferring the Spanish model would therefore primarily be a coordination task: municipalities would need to agree on standards for access, signage, supervision and activation during heat warnings. France has a strategic framework in its adaptation plan. It remains unclear whether this will produce a nationwide, easily understood network that genuinely reaches older people, children, homeless people and residents of heavily sealed urban neighbourhoods in their daily lives.