Access to air conditioning in Barcelona varies sharply by income, information from new research from the Instituto de Investigación Urbana de Barcelona (IDRA). The study, released this week, found that just 38.9% of households earning under €1,000 per month have any form of cooling system, compared with 71.2% of those with monthly incomes above €3,000. That leaves lower-income residents more exposed to extreme summer heat. A separate scientific assessment estimated 1,842 heat-related deaths in Barcelona from June to August 2026, including 1,587 that researchers calculated would have been avoided in a counterfactual climate without fossil-fuel-driven warming.
The report says 57.2% of all homes in the province have air conditioning, but that average masks impressive inequalities. The IDRA analysis identifies three factors behind what it calls “heat inequality”: exposure to high temperatures; social vulnerability, including income, age, household composition and housing quality; and the ability to respond to heat events. The group at greatest risk is described as elderly women with health issues who live in low-income neighborhoods without air conditioning. The Barcelona mortality estimate comes from a wider assessment by researchers at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. It measures heat-related mortality, not deaths individually attributed to a lack of air conditioning.
Researchers found that indoor temperatures in the most vulnerable areas of metropolitan Barcelona exceed 25.8°C for up to 2,066 hours a year, equivalent to 86 days. The least affected zones experience such heat for about 1,437 hours, or 60 days. The study also found that only 14% of low-income homes have adequate insulation, compared with over 33% of wealthier households. Also, 80% of property tax (IBI) rebates for self-consumption energy go to single-family homes, which are more common in affluent areas.
Heat exposure extends beyond private homes. The report says many workplaces, schools and public spaces lack proper climate adaptation. Half of public schools in the province, for example, are still not equipped to handle extreme heat. Access to green spaces and climate shelters is also uneven, adding to the risks for vulnerable populations. Broader European research covering 854 urban areas in 30 countries estimated at least 50,391 heat-related deaths from June to August 2026. People over 85 accounted for nearly half, while at least 833 deaths were among people aged 20 to 44.
The study names 39 municipalities in Barcelona province as priority areas for intervention, based on low income, poor housing stock and above-average heat. They include 23 inland towns, among them Cardona, Manresa and Roda Ter, plus 16 coastal and near-coastal cities, including L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, Cornellà de Llobregat, Mataró and Calella.
Two municipalities show the contrast. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat has some of the highest nighttime temperatures, a below-average median income of €36,526 and aging, densely packed housing. Eighty percent of homes are over 45 years old, and 40% have poor energy efficiency. Residents have few options for relief: the city has just 4.2 square meters of green space per person and only two public outdoor pools. At the other end of the spectrum, Gurb in Osona has high daytime temperatures but also higher incomes of €73,732, modern single-family homes and better energy ratings. It has abundant private pools, at 7.8 per 100 residents, along with extensive green areas and a climate shelter.
The study focuses on heat but also calls for a broader approach to energy poverty, which in Spain has traditionally centered on winter cold. The authors say summer thermal comfort should receive the same urgency as winter heating. They recommend expanding support for efficient technologies and improving building insulation, while prioritizing vulnerable groups, schools, healthcare centers and exposed workplaces. The report warns that distributing more air conditioners could increase fossil fuel consumption unless the effort is paired with a shift to cleaner energy sources.
The wider toll of heat mortality adds urgency to adaptation. The scientific assessment estimated 6,824 heat-related deaths across 90 Spanish cities in summer 2026, with 5,227, about 77%, attributable to human-caused climate change. It described the summer as Spain’s hottest since records began in 1961, with a mean temperature of 24.5°C and 61 days classified as heatwave conditions. Almost one-third of the estimated deaths occurred during the intense heatwave from 17 June to 1 July, when temperatures in the affected region averaged about 5.3°C above the recent historical average.
Those scientific estimates rely on city-level temperature and mortality-risk modelling and should be distinguished from Spain’s official MoMo surveillance figures. MoMo, operated by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, estimated 5,807 heat-attributable deaths nationwide between 15 May and 30 September 2026. The figures cover different periods and geographic areas, and they use different methods. The scientific assessment applies temperature-related mortality-risk curves in selected urban areas, while MoMo estimates excess deaths against expected mortality.
The findings echo wider concerns about housing and social inequality in Catalonia, reflected in recent policy moves to address speculative property investment in high-demand areas. Catalonia’s parliament, for example, has taken steps to limit investor activity in the housing market and protect residents’ access to affordable homes. The measure is detailed in this recent report on new restrictions for speculative housing purchases.
Experts involved in the IDRA study say Spain’s public health and social policies must adapt to a warming climate. They warn that current data collection is insufficient for effective planning, while summer heat risks remain underrepresented on the policy agenda despite their growing impact.
Spain is not alone: across southern Europe, rising temperatures are exposing gaps in infrastructure and social protection. As heatwaves grow more frequent and severe, staying cool is increasingly a matter of health and equity, not comfort alone. The IDRA report calls for coordinated action on housing and energy, alongside social policy, with particular attention to those most at risk.
