A city in Spain will begin naming heatwaves

As deadly heatwaves become a worsening threat to populations around the world, one city in Spain is taking action to recognize them as the natural disasters they are—by naming them. Juan Espadas, mayor of Seville, Spain, announced on Oct. 18 that his city will become the first in the world to give heatwaves official names and categorization, much like hurricanes or blizzards in other parts of the world. This new naming and categorization framework is part of a larger project to study heatwaves that Seville is undertaking with help from the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and in partnership with several local universities.