El Raval: Barcelona's Hottest Hotspot Amid Record Heatwave

Barcelona, Spain – As the sun dips below the horizon, the sky turns pink, orange, and blue, but the heat and humidity remain suffocating. On Barcelona's beach, a group of Pakistani women seek refuge from the scorching heat—some lie on the wet sand to cool off, others dance in the shallow waves to the tunes of their homeland, and some rinse off under the showers.

This Spanish city broke its temperature record on July 8, hitting 40.7°C, amid a European heatwave. The province of Barcelona alone has recorded around 205 heat-related deaths since the start of the month.

According to a study published last year in Nature Medicine, in the worst-case scenario, this city could see more than 246,000 heat-related deaths between 2015 and 2099—higher than any other European city, largely due to its Mediterranean location and dense urban fabric. The urban heat island effect, where built-up areas, pollution, asphalt, and lack of green spaces trap heat and push temperatures higher, is a serious factor.

El Raval: A Hotspot in the City's Core

But within Barcelona itself, the risk of heat-related death is not evenly distributed. El Raval, the city's old quarter, ranks as the most 'vulnerable' neighborhood to heat, especially at night, according to the Climate Vulnerability Index (IVAC), a tool created in 2022 to map the hardest-hit areas.

Elena Domene, coordinator and co-author of the index, said that in previous years 'there were more and more heatwaves,' so it was necessary to find out 'where people would suffer the most.' In Barcelona, a heatwave is defined as three or more consecutive days with a maximum temperature above 33.1°C.

El Raval is particularly vulnerable for several reasons: it ranks among the 15 most densely populated neighborhoods in the city, has the second-lowest average income in Barcelona (15,050 euros per year), and is one of the areas with the least green space. Inside homes, residents also have few places to escape the heat. A map designed by the Architecture, Energy and Environment research group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) shows a high proportion of homes lacking insulation and cross-ventilation, trapping heat and creating increasingly stifling conditions as temperatures rise.

The neighborhood is also one of the city's migration hubs. With 67% of residents born abroad (mainly from Pakistan, the Philippines, and India), it has the second-highest share of foreign-born residents in Barcelona.

Rare Moments of Relief

Deep in a narrow street of El Raval, the Cultural, Educational and Social Center of Pakistani Women (ACESOP) is a refuge from the heat. Founder Huma Jamshed Bashir says that on hot afternoons and nights, many in the community walk 20 minutes out of the neighborhood to find cooler air in an air-conditioned mall, or head to the beach to escape their cramped, stifling apartments. They often stay until they feel sleepy. Those who cannot go far sit along the Rambla del Raval, one of the few tree-lined spaces in the neighborhood.

The lack of nighttime cooling is measurable. As of July 20, Barcelona had recorded 25 tropical nights (minimum temperatures between 20-24.9°C) and 25 'extremely hot' nights (minimum temperatures between 25-29.9°C), nearly matching the 36 extreme hot nights the city experienced in all of 2025.

Reena Mazhar, who arrived in Barcelona from Lahore, Pakistan, six months ago, says she and her husband have not yet found work. They share a room in an apartment in El Raval with four other people in the next room and do not even have a fan. 'All I can do is keep wetting myself, showering frequently, or leaving the house to find somewhere I can breathe,' the 40-year-old said.

A 16-year-old boy, Adam Halui, said he gets nosebleeds every time the temperature spikes. He washes his face at the public fountain in front of the Josep Trueta senior center—an air-conditioned 'climate shelter.' Barcelona runs about 500 such shelters (15 in El Raval), including libraries, museums, and parks. However, these sites have their limits.

According to a 2023 study by architect Blanca Arellano Ramos, at night, only 15% of elderly people can reach these centers within a 10-minute walk, as many close after dark. Other centers, like schoolyards designated as shelters, are closed during the summer months. 'Quality also matters—not any place can serve as a shelter,' she added, citing limited opening hours and the need for seating, water, or washing facilities.

Margarita Medina, 70, lives alone and suffers from fibromyalgia. She has an air conditioner at home but cannot use it because it worsens her condition. 'I don't have enough oxygen in my lungs, so I really suffer from the heat,' she said.

A recent study by the Barcelona Institute for Urban Research (IDRA) highlights the risk to elderly people like Medina. According to the study, older, low-income women living alone in poorly insulated homes face the highest risk of death during heatwaves.

Solutions and Obstacles

Architect Ramos argues that urban design needs to focus on 'renaturalizing the city' by adding more green spaces, although this requires significant water supply and enough room for trees to grow.

Barcelona's city government aims to introduce climate-resilient trees and eventually wants them to make up 36% of trees in the Ciutat Vella district, which includes El Raval, as part of its climate adaptation plan. However, Pere de Mas, the city council's urban greening coordinator, said that besides economic and logistical hurdles, unexpected cold snaps in winter make it hard for these species to thrive, and European nurseries are still specialized in cold-climate trees. 'There are very few producers of warm-climate trees,' he said.

Community Garden at Risk of Eviction

In this sweltering neighborhood, an 'oasis' built by residents themselves is at risk of closure: Agora Juan Andres Benitez, a self-managed community garden built and maintained entirely by volunteers.

In 2014, dozens of residents occupied an abandoned plot near where police killed a man and set up a community space named after him. Six Catalan regional police officers were convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of Juan Andres Benitez. The area has since become a 'free space' with lush greenery that helps cool the environment. But now, a court has set an eviction date for October 8.

'This is a community space that promotes social cohesion. We really need spaces like this in the neighborhood,' said Margarita Hernandez, an El Raval resident and Agora member.

Beyond being a place to escape the heat, around 16,000 free or low-cost meals are served here each year. It also functions as an informal community care network, hosting school visits, free educational workshops, providing health information, and serving as a safe haven for El Raval's most marginalized, including undocumented immigrants, the homeless, sex workers, and low-income families.

Isa Fernandez, a user of the space, worries about its loss. 'They don't understand why we insist that Agora must continue. They don't realize what it means, how it affects the whole neighborhood,' Fernandez said. 'It has become a place that welcomes many people. It's great to come here—unlike sitting on a bench on the street in the heat.'

This article uses information from reporters Diego Arredondo and Serena Lordache. The reporting was supported by the Montserrat Roig 2025 Journalism Research Fellowship.