The 'frying pan of Spain' shows how cities can deal with extreme heat

Seville has adopted several water-based solutions to reducing urban temperatures.

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On the Isla de la Cartuja, the Seville neighbourhood that hosted Expo '92, a group of researchers have implanted an ancient technique for cooling indoor urban spaces.

Called qanat, this technique was invented by Persians around 3,000 years ago to improve irrigation, lower ambient temperatures and provide drinking water to animals in arid regions. 

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Another water-based cooling solution helps students cope with high temperatures well beyond summer, as the Andalusian regional government has decided to implement bioclimatic air conditioning systems in schools.

"It's a system that works in a very simple way just with the water evaporation," explained Manuel Cortés Romero, general director of the Andalusian public agency for education. 

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