Faced with the climate crisis and the repeated heat waves this summer, Barcelona maintains the thermostats of its air conditioners at around 22 degrees, well below the 26 recommended by experts and the 27 that this Friday the president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez. A journalist from the newspaper has traveled different establishments, public and private, in Barcelona to check it with an air thermometer. The results are far from what was desired, but what seems clear is that the messages from the Government and the European Union, which has asked to reduce gas consumption for autumn, they fit better in the citizens than in administrations and companies.
One of these days in which the sun pressed down aggressively, Francisco from Barcelona was walking along Diagonal, near the L’Illa shopping centre. Many of the passers-by, suffocated, stopped in front of the open doors of the Sfera multi-brand store that, at street level, threw cold waves to the outside. The temperature of the establishment fluctuated, according to the thermometer, by the 21.5ºC. Francisco, informed about the measures established by the European Commission, explained that he has followed the measures “for years.” Although it seems to him a necessary regulation, he considers it to be “completely insufficient”since according to this citizen, the institutions should question the real triggers of “a worsening crisis and that is endangering survival” such as, for example, “the model of production, social organization and Lifestyle”.
“I do it for one ethics issue for a long time”, said Francisco. Not only did he think so. Carlos, a resident of the Sarrià neighbourhood, affirmed that he and his family at home put the air conditioning at 24º, bordering on the recommendations that have been launched from Europe. “The comfort temperature is always said to be between 24º and 25º“, he insisted. And he added: “People, sometimes, turn on the air at full speed thinking that the room will cool down sooner, and it’s not like that.” Meanwhile, Òscar, who was walking hurriedly to leave the great avenue of Portal de l’Àngel, confirmed that he always puts the air conditioning between 25º and 26ºCand that Sánchez’s measures seem entirely “reasonable, given the circumstances & rdquor ;.
At one of the doors of El Corte Inglés in Plaza Catalunya, Luis was waiting for his daughter surrounded by tourists and buyers wanting sales. A center that, as was seen in L’Illa, also threw the cold air from inside and that was qualified by man as “the cathedral of capitalism”. As Luis explained, it would also be a good example that demonstrates “the lack of ecological and environmental awareness by these companies”. The ambient temperature inside El Corte Inglés in Plaza de Catalunya, as Luis predicted, was around 22ºC. And in its Portal de l’Àngel shopping center at 21.7ºC, away from the recommendations.
wave of tourists
In a Barcelona invaded by heat and in full wave of touristsContrary to the citizens, there are various companies and institutions that do not follow the European guidelines. Barcelona is, according to Statista, one of the “most important tourist destinations in the world & rdquor ;. Taking into account that the pandemic prevented the normal mobilization of travelers in 2020, the city of Barcelona reached the 11,977,277 tourists in 2019, of which each was spent about 195 euros per day. Thus, with the arrival of the wave of visits typical of this time, there are several businesses that seduce customers with their air conditioning. The Mango fashion store located in Portal de l’Àngel, for example, had a room temperature that afternoon below 22ºC. Instead, in his store on La Rambla, remained at 21.3ºC.
At the Hotel Catalonia Portal de l’Àngel, dressed in a suit and tie, one of the reception employees assures that the temperature of the air conditioning is 25ºC because “does not throw more & rdquor;. If it were possible, the worker would lower the temperature because “The thermal sensation is higher than indicated & rdquor;. In Ikonik Anglí de Sarriá, that same Friday, the temperature of the air conditioning was at 21ºC. The girl in charge of the hotel reception assures that, “considering that the door opens and closes every time someone enters the hotel, we keep it short & rdquor ;. Mandarin Oriental on Passeig de Gràcia, in turn, kept a slightly cooler room temperature inside. below 23ºC.
On Calle de Fontanella, at the intersection with Plaza de Urquinaona, the El Fornet bakery kept the premises air-conditioned with an air conditioner that, according to its employees, was “programmed at 22ºC”. Opposite, the Media Markt company held a temperature that touched the 23ºC. In the case of El Decathlon in Plaza de la Vila in Madrid, located near La Rambla, the space contained a ambient temperature of 23.2ºC inside. There are companies more willing than others to continue with energy cuts, but how are the entities that are part of the Barcelona public administration the welcome of the regulations?
Trains and buses, more temperate
Related news
In reference to transportation, one of the FGC railways that circulated in the direction of Avinguda Tibidabo (L7), around 8:00 p.m., presented the ambient temperature of 22.5ºC. Another that was heading from Sarrià to Plaça Catalunya (L6), around 4:00 p.m., presented a temperature close to 23ºC. As for the bus, after various shots in different vehicles that circulated around the city, it maintains a temperature that conforms to the measures recommended by experts. On the metro, on the other hand, both L1 and L3 had a temperature close to 25ºCand that taking into account the constant movement of its automatic doors.
Through the thermometer it has been possible to reach a conclusion. And it is that perhaps it resides, in the conscience of the citizen, civility and responsibility necessary to be able to overcome this energy emergency to which European Commission and Government They have thrown the dart.