The Madrid City Council activated this weekend the red alert of the action protocol for adverse weather due to the forecast of gusts of wind and heat in the metropolitan area, as reported by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in the update of its extraordinary newsletter.
For this reason, El Retiro and nine other parks in Madrid: El Capricho, the Sabatini gardens, the Rosaleda del Parque del Oeste, Juan Carlos I, Juan Pablo II, Quinta de Fuente del Berro, Quinta de los Molinos, Quinta Torre Arias and the Manzanares linear park remained closed on Sunday afternoon.
Complaints from citizens and visitors did not take long to reach social networks. Even Antonio Giraldo, urban planner and PSOE councilor in the capital, recalled in a tweet that the current protocol is from 2019. In his opinion, the objective of said closure is to prevent branches from falling, but he explained that there are also tree pits in gardens without fencing, with which "the best possible protocol is periodic maintenance that prevents these falls and that would mean cutting down trees in poor condition and planting new ones."
Faced with this situation, he calls for a new shadow protocol for citizens who do not have air conditioning at home. He even proposes "enabling a network of alternative climate shelters open until 00 hours in the face of these episodes" of heat.
The protocol establishes two variables for the red alert to be activated, linked to wind and heat. On the one hand, when gusts of wind above 65 kilometers per hour are expected, as long as the temperature is below 35 degrees Celsius. On the other, when the ambient temperature is higher, that is, above 35º, there are gusts of wind above 55 km/h.
On Sunday afternoon, Madrid experienced a suffocating day. Gusts of wind of up to 65 kilometers per hour were forecast from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and maximum temperatures during the day of 38 degrees Celsius, two phenomena that may favor the fall of branches in these green areas, which is why proceeded to close the parks.
The eviction in El Retiro began two hours before the alert was activated, at 1:00 p.m. This action also caused complaints among passers-by, since doors were closing and they had to look for the ones that had been left open to proceed with the eviction.
The reopening of this historic park will be delayed until Monday, once the technicians from the City Council's Environment and Mobility Area have evaluated and acted on possible damage to the trees.
The rest of the parks will be opened as the situation of the trees is reviewed. The Madrid City Council will inform through its usual channels, including the 22 information panels located at the entrances to El Retiro, about the reopening of these facilities.
During the orange alert it is recommended that users leave the parks and not remain detained under the trees.
