Similarly, while the 2022 Spanish National Heatwave Action Plan (Plan Nacional de Actuaciones Preventivas de los Efectos del Exceso de Temperaturas sobre la Salud) mentions disability as a “risk factor,” it does not formulate specific actions required to address those risks.Īs far as Human Rights Watch has been able to determine, people with disabilities or organizations representing them were not involved in developing the Andalusian heatwave action plan. The 2022 Andalusian Heatwave Action Plan (Plan Andaluz para la Prevención de los Efectos de las Temperaturas Excesivas sobre la Salud) does not explicitly recognize people with disabilities as a group more susceptible to the negative effects of extreme heat or define specific actions except for those living in institutions. Social isolation is associated with higher heat risks, including for mortality. Several studies found that people with disabilities experience loneliness and social isolation at higher rates than people without disabilities. They also described loneliness and the social isolation they feel is amplified during extreme heat when they are compelled to stay at home for long periods. Most said the heatwaves affected their mental health too. They described brain fog, difficulties breathing, low blood pressure, dizziness, weakness, sleep deprivation, water retention, infections, and losing consciousness. Most people with disabilities interviewed said that the 2022 heatwaves had a serious negative impact on their physical health. “With more intense and frequent heatwaves looming, authorities in Andalusia should learn from last year’s shortcomings and involve people with disabilities in developing an inclusive climate action and heatwave response plan.” “People with disabilities are at high risk of harm from exposure to extreme heat, including risk of death and physical, social, and mental health distress, especially when they are left to cope with dangerous temperatures on their own,” said Jonas Bull, assistant disability rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. Such disproportionate impacts are a result of a host of factors, including lack of inclusion in emergency and adaptation planning, inadequate emergency communication, accessibility issues, isolation, and economic marginalization. People with disabilities are often among those most adversely affected in an emergency, including a heatwave, yet least able to access support.

More people face the risk of heat stress and even death as average temperatures increase across the world, with more heatwaves predicted for Southern Europe, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A map of the average maximum temperature in degrees Celsius in Andalusia (Spain) for the month of July during the period 1981-2010.

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