Benidorm is conducting a study in the city to create climate spaces and corridors that improve urban comfort

Benidorm City Council, through the Department of Urban Scene and in collaboration with the University of Valencia, is conducting a study to understand the impact of the so-called heat island effect in the city. This scientific study aims to identify which areas or points in the municipality are experiencing this effect and implement measures to minimise it and improve the population's climate comfort.

To this end, as explained today by the Councillor for Urban Scene, Francis Muñoz, more than twenty thermal sensors were installed at different points in Benidorm a month ago. These devices measure the temperature at the selected points, "achieving a mesh of the city with detailed data." The first sampling has already been completed, and the data is now being analysed."

A second measurement will be taken in June, "and the data obtained from one measurement to the next will then be compared to get a very approximate idea of ​​the situation," said Adrián Ferrandis of the University of Valencia. Ultimately, the university will prepare a report to submit to the City Council, advising on the decisions to be made.

"This project is part of Benidorm's Climate Change Action Plan," the councillor explained, adding that the ultimate goal is "to improve and adapt the city so that the spaces are more pleasant for people in terms of temperature." To achieve this, it is necessary to have the largest amount of data available to assist the City Council in its subsequent decision-making, the design of the actions to be undertaken, and the areas where they will be implemented. "It is a scientific approach that will determine which areas experience this heat island effect so we can minimise it through climate corridors or spaces," Ferrandis indicated.

Although only provisional data are available so far, the authors of the study have been able to verify that, indeed, "we can observe large differences of two or three degrees in various areas depending on the type of soil or whether it is more or less naturalised," Ferrandis noted.

Francis Muñoz, for his part, emphasised that the projects and areas being analysed "are studied very carefully; they are not decided haphazardly or randomly." And this study, he continued, "helps us implement measures such as the renaturalization of spaces or the implementation of textile architecture." Ultimately, the study's function is to provide sufficient data for the city to define its priorities based on the information it has to improve citizen comfort."

The Councillor for Urban Scene clarified that this study is being funded by the 2022 Tourism Sustainability Plan and that the actions recommended in the report will also be sent to the City Council and will also be funded from that plan.