High temperatures are not letting up: barely a week after some areas of Madrid recorded a record high temperature temperatures over 60ºC the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) warns of a new heat wave. One of the fundamental measures to take into account in these circumstances is to protect the skin from the sun andfor that the City Council of Alcorcón has installed free sunscreen dispensers.
The initiative, which has the collaboration of the Sports Area and ESMASA (the city’s public company), is the result of a historic agreement signed with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) in Madrid, by which they have been installed in its three municipal swimming pools. Namely:
- Carlos Hernández Ortiz Municipal Swimming Pool (Los Cantos Sports Center)
- Santo Domingo Municipal Swimming Pool (Esteban Márquez Ave.)
- La Canaleja Municipal Swimming Pool (Avenida de Los Castillos)
These are not the only points with free access to this basic and essential product to protect against health risks derived from sun exposure, such as skin cancer. Since last July, several public centers can also be found at : the Buero Vallejo Theater, the Polvoranca and Adolfo Suarez Senior Citizens Centers and the Unified Security Center (CUS).
With these measures, Alcorcón is working on the creation of climatic homes, which are nothing more than “public spaces that make life more comfortable in summer in the municipality in an accessible way for all residents,” says the City Council of the town.
A concept similar to that of the climatic shelters operating this summer in the capital city, located at Chamartín and in in the middle of Alcalá Street.
Free sunscreen dispensers: a reality in Spain?
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, stated last May during the Great Health Forum of El Economista that the ministry is studying the implementation of this measure in our country. However, already then assured that it would not arrive by this summer.
Meanwhile, in some parts of our geography there are administrations that have already applied it, as did Malaga last year on some of its beaches.
Outside our borders, free sunscreen dispensers have been piloted for years and in some cases have already been installed. This is the case in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and some parts of the United States, where they are available to the public in places such as beaches, lakes and parks.