Inside Barcelona’s most sweltering neighbourhood: El Raval

What the report says

Barcelona’s El Raval neighborhood is emerging as one of the city’s clearest examples of how extreme heat can fall unevenly across an urban area, Al Jazeera reports. The feature, published July 31, 2026, describes a district in the old town where dense housing, low incomes, limited tree cover and poor insulation make summer temperatures harder to bear, especially at night.

The article says Barcelona hit a record 40.7C on July 8 during a European heatwave, and that the wider province has seen an estimated 205 heat-related deaths since the start of the month. Within the city, El Raval ranks as the most heat-vulnerable neighborhood in a climate index developed in 2022. It is also among the city’s most crowded districts, has one of the lowest median incomes, and includes a large migrant population, with residents born abroad making up about 67 percent.

Al Jazeera describes how people in the neighborhood cope: some women from Pakistan gather at the ACESOP center for refuge and support, while others walk to the beach, sit in shaded streets, or use air-conditioned public “climate shelters.” The report also notes that many homes lack cross-ventilation and thermal protection, which can trap heat indoors.

The piece places El Raval in a broader debate over climate adaptation in cities. Local researchers and city officials cited in the article say more green space, better shelter access and warmer-climate trees are part of the response, though water, space and planting conditions remain constraints.