The high temperatures and strong gusts of wind caused the Retiro park in Madrid and nine other parks to close last Sunday. In view of the adverse weather conditions, the Madrid City Council chose to activate the red alert established in the protocol since 2019, a measure approved at the time by the municipal team of Manuela Carmena, which forces the bolt to be closed before “a high probability of a fall of branches”.
Complaints from citizens of the capital, visitors and even politicians did not take long to reach social networks, since it is one of the few large parks in the center of the capital that has large trees that provide shade from days of so much hot, with temperatures this weekend reaching 38 degrees.
The socialist councilor Antonio Giraldo recalled in a tweet that in other gardens and parks there are also trees that can fall. Hence, he suggested “periodic maintenance” of the trees. In addition, he called for “enabling a network of alternative climate shelters to these closures” for especially older or vulnerable people who do not have measures to combat the heat in their homes. The Madrid City Council activated the orange alert yesterday, which does not imply the closure of the park, but it is recommended not to access it, and risk areas are marked off. The controversy caused the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, to announce yesterday that a meeting with the opposition is going to take place today to analyze whether the current protocol should be changed.
