When heat meets living heritage: castells and correfocs as lighthouses of climate risk in Mediterranean intangible cultural heritage

Mediterranean intangible cultural heritage (MICH) represents a vital dimension of regional identity, yet its reliance on outdoor public spaces makes it uniquely vulnerable to intensifying summer heat extremes. Unlike built heritage, where climate risk is often framed as material degradation, the risk to “living heritage” is operational and existential. When extreme heat intersects with traditional practices, it threatens participants' safety, the feasibility of fixed seasonal calendars, and the long-term continuity of those practices. This communication describes an event-oriented research pathway using two emblematic Catalan ICH manifestations as “lighthouses” of climate risk: castells (human towers; UNESCO-listed ICH since 2010) and correfocs (fire parades).

The study identifies two distinct profiles. Human Towers provide a high-visibility case of direct exposure. Here, the risk is compounded by high crowd density, direct solar radiation during daytime events, and the sustained physical effort required to build towers. Operational decisions (timing, pauses, hydration, medical readiness) must be negotiated in real-time under thermal stress. In contrast, correfocs represent a “compound-exposure”. Held typically in the evening, the risk is not merely ambient temperature but the interaction between high humidity, urban ventilation constraints in narrow streets, and the significant radiative load from pyrotechnics. However, conventional heat indices often fail to capture this specific microclimatic burden, which includes smoke and particle exposure.

This research builds on recent evidence (Olano Pozo et al., 2024; Boqué-Ciurana et al., 2025; Saladié et al., 2025; Olano Pozo et al., 2026), indicating that climate change is already narrowing the safety margins for these traditions. We, therefore, present the first results along two complementary lines.

First, we conduct a multi-decadal reconstruction (1950-2023) of near-surface thermal conditions (temperature and humidity) during correfoc windows (21:00 – 23:00 local time) in six Catalan towns.  By computing perceived-heat indicators (Heat Index and UTCI), we identify a clear shift towards warmer nighttime conditions and an increasing frequency of thermal discomfort events, with stronger signals in pre-coastal locations than in the most maritime setting. While this reanalysis-only approach cannot resolve route-scale microclimates in dense urban fabrics, nor explicitly represent the additional radiative burden from pyrotechnics (and other event-specific stressors such as crowd effects), it provides a multi-decadal context for identifying recurrent “risk windows” and prioritising variables, sites, and hypotheses for targeted field campaigns.

Second, for Castells, we utilise a longitudinal analysis of press and media narratives (2010–2025). This tracks how climate change is already shaping practice and organisation through societal signals, using press and media analysis to track shifts in reported impacts, operational disruptions, and adaptation responses over time.

Building on these works, we propose a structured transition from data to policy. The pathway begins with reanalysis screening to detect shifts in background conditions, followed by targeted in situ monitoring (potentially using fixed and wearable sensors) to quantify the specific radiative loads that reanalysis cannot resolve. Simultaneously, media analysis assesses the institutional and community recognition of risk. All these inputs feed a co-creation process with performers, organisers, and emergency services. The next objective should be to co-design culturally acceptable and operationally feasible adaptation measures.