The recurrent closure of El Retiro and other large parks in Madrid in the heat wave is generating growing indignation among neighbors, associations and regular users of these green spaces. The controversy has flared up this summer, when the municipal protocol has kept El Retiro and up to eight other parks closed for more than a dozen days, just in the periods of most extreme temperatures. In social networks, especially in X (formerly Twitter), complaints have gone viral under messages like the one from @DiegoRBCA: “El Retiro closed again. It is more necessary than ever when it is so hot”.
The general feeling is one of incomprehension and frustration. Many citizens consider that, instead of protecting, the closures deprive the population of their main climatic refuge, since the shade and vegetation of these parks can reduce the ambient temperature by up to 8-15 degrees with respect to the asphalt. Neighborhood associations such as Retiro Norte, as well as opposition parties, demand an urgent review of the protocol and denounce that the real problem is the lack of maintenance and resources for the trees, not the extreme heat itself.
Why are Madrid’s parks closed in hot weather?
The Madrid City Council, for its part, defends the measure as a safety issue. According to municipal data, 70-80% of fallen branches and trees occur precisely during the days of closure, when high temperatures and gusts of wind coincide, and most of the trees in the Retiro are of advanced age and especially vulnerable. The protocol, tightened after serious incidents in previous years, is activated when the AEMET forecasts more than 35°C and winds of 55-65 km/h, with low ground humidity.
However, neighbors insist that the solution cannot be to systematically close the parks, but to invest in their care and enable alternatives, such as partial opening by safe areas or the creation of weather shelters in other municipal spaces. Complaints also point to the lack of communication and transparency about closure criteria, as well as the inconvenience to those who pass through the park daily or are looking for a place to walk, play sports or simply take shelter from the heat.
The controversy has intensified this summer, when heat waves have coincided with events such as the Book Fair, forcing the cancellation of activities and leaving thousands of Madrid residents without access to one of the city’s most emblematic green lungs.