The authorities in Barcelona have begun issuing bracelets that measure temperature to outdoor workers in the municipality, a year since a street sweeper died from a heatwave shift. This is taking place at a time when Spain is going through yet another harsh summer, with more than 1,000 people dying more than usual in June.

Currently, about 1,400 bracelets have been issued to street sweepers, gardeners, lighting teams, and garbage collectors in the municipality. The bracelets record the temperature of the worker, notifying him or her if it reaches the point where heat stress starts.

Pep Llimona, prevention coordinator for Barcelona's parks and gardens department, said the plan to bring in the bracelets was already underway before last year's death, but that the tragedy pushed things along faster.

"It has helped to speed up things and has made us think a little more," he said.

The woman who died was a 51-year-old street cleaner working in Barcelona's old town, where temperatures that day hit 30.4°C. The city council launched an investigation following her death. This week, a spokesperson said there's no evidence heatstroke was the cause and confirmed she died after her shift had already ended.

Spain's national weather agency, Aemet, reported that this June was the second-hottest on record. Another heatwave is expected in the coming days.

Ester Jimenez, who oversees outdoor maintenance crews, said the heat has forced changes to how work gets done day to day.

"Because it's getting hotter and hotter, we have to be more vigilant at work," she said, adding that keeping staff safe from heatstroke has become a bigger worry every summer.

Some of the steps taken by Spanish officials in the recent past include changing working hours when there is an extreme heatwave. Additionally, some cities have reviewed their laws on workplace safety due to the increasing frequency of heatwaves.

Barcelona has not said whether the bracelet program will expand beyond its municipal outdoor workforce.