Seville in the face of global warming
While it is not uncommon for the thermometer to exceed 40°C, Seville is still close to its own temperature record, currently set at 46°C. The locals, who are no longer cooled by the famous Andalusian fan, have taken to organizing their activities in the morning, while holidaymakers are coming earlier and earlier in the season, before the heat becomes too overwhelming.
Since 2022, the city has even been the first in the world to name its heat waves, in the same way that storms and hurricanes are named. The initiative, recommended by climatologists, should help raise public awareness of these events.
To counter this unfortunate meteorological phenomenon, the city council is trying to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and in particular has strongly developed the bicycle network, which has increased from 80 km to 180 km on 2019 alone. In 2018, it also invested in 340 organic waste containers and equipped residents with electronic cards. The stated goal is to reduce the amount of waste incinerated in landfills, and on a larger scale, to limit global warming. However, it has not yet established an emergency plan to deal with pollution peaks, even though air pollution is one of the city's most important environmental problems.
The city of 100 gardens
In an increasingly stifling atmosphere, Seville's gardens act as true oases. The tradition of gardens dates back to Roman times and is an integral part of the city's identity. Of particular note are the gardens of the Royal Alcázares (Reales l'Alcázares), the green jewel of the city center, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. They contain 170 plant species in a Garden of Eden made up of ponds tiled with tiles. María Luisa Park, with its 38 hectares, is more than 5 times the size of the Alcazar. With a subtropical flora, it invites you to an exotic journey in a luxuriant jungle, populated by colorful birds. These collared parakeets, resulting from the closure of a clandestine bird market in the 1990s, are now more than 5,500 in the city. Very territorial, they represent a real threat to local birds. Smaller, the Jardines de Murillo are not lacking in charm either.
From anarchic urbanism to citizen initiatives
Although orchards have always been part of Seville's history, they have long been forced to live alongside wastelands and garbage dumps. During the twentieth century, the city underwent a growth as fulgurating as anarchic, replacing the agricultural areas by disorganized urban areas, especially in the periphery. As the city was slow to act, many citizen initiatives emerged, starting with the Miraflores Park.
As early as 1983, a citizens' association made up of 150,000 citizens appropriated a huge 90-hectare wasteland to transform it into an environmental and social project. This park, which is still the largest in the metropolis, allows the inhabitants of the neighborhood to be agriculturally autonomous thanks to local products grown in the heart of the city. The city, however, was slow to recognize its value, and took a decade to approve the project. Alongside the Miraflores garden, many other spontaneous green spaces have appeared on vacant lots, such as the Tamarguillo Park or the San Jerónimo Park: a very concrete way for Sevillians to take their environmental fate into their own hands.
