The Madrid City Council has decided to relax the protocol that, over the past few summers, left thousands of people without their main green refuge in the midst of a heat wave. El Retiro and the other historic parks will now have higher closure thresholds and a differentiated management approach that, according to municipal estimates, will allow the park to remain open about 20% more days per year—or, put another way, will result in it closing 20% fewer days.
The protocol used until now combined three meteorological variables—wind, temperature, and humidity—based on data from the AEMET. These variables were used to define four alert levels (green, yellow, orange, and red), and in the worst-case scenario, a red alert meant the park would be completely closed to prevent risks from falling branches or trees.diario.
The problem is that the thresholds were very conservative and based on 24-hour-ahead forecasts. If wind gusts between 40 and 55 km/h were predicted, an orange alert would be triggered; if gusts exceeded 55 km/h, a red alert would be issued and the park would close. This led to heavily criticized situations, such as El Retiro closing for several days in the middle of the Book Fair or during periods of extreme heat without any actual strong winds, simply because the protocol required it—even though the forecast did not ultimately come to pass.
Neighborhood associations have reported that in a single year, the park was closed for more than 40 days out of the 93 days that make up spring—from May through August—depriving the city of one of its main shelters from the sun just when it’s needed most.
What’s Changing in the New Protocol
The Governing Board has approved a new model for managing parks in the face of adverse weather, with two major changes:
- A specific protocol has been approved for El Retiro and five other historic parks (El Capricho, Fuente del Berro, Quinta de los Molinos, Quinta de Torre Arias, and El Parque del Oeste).diario.
- Another differentiated protocol has been approved for Juan Carlos I Park, Juan Pablo II Park, and the Manzanares Linear Park, which in practice will never actually close and will only have certain areas restricted in the event of extreme winds.diario.
In the case of El Retiro and the historic parks, the key change lies in the wind thresholds that trigger alerts. An orange alert will now be issued when gusts of between 45 and 60 km/h are forecast, compared to the previous range of 40–55 km/h. The red alert, which entails the closure of the park, will be activated at 60 km/h, five kilometers per hour above the limit in effect until now (55 km/h).diario.
Furthermore, in the parks of the second group (Juan Carlos I, Juan Pablo II, and Lineal del Manzanares), the red alert will only be activated when wind gusts reach 75 km/h or higher—a threshold clearly intended for exceptional situations.diario.
City Hall has also adjusted how forecasts are interpreted:greater weight will be given to weather conditions in the hour immediately before opening, and the situation at each park will be assessed individually, rather than relying solely on 24-hour forecasts. This should prevent closures based on forecasts that later prove inaccurate.
Fewer closures, same safety goal
Deputy Mayor Inma Sanz and Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida have emphasized that the change is not intended to compromise safety, but rather to adapt the protocol to the evidence gathered in recent years. Based on technical data regarding how the trees behave, they have concluded that the wind threshold can be raised slightly without increasing the risk to visitors, and that this will allow the parks to remain open for more days during the summer.
According to Almeida, with the modification of the wind threshold,“El Retiro will be open 20% more days a year or will close 20% fewer days, depending on how you look at it.” The measure will initially be applied to this park, but City Hall plans to tailor the protocols for the other historic parks so that each one has its own guidelines based on its specific characteristics.
The Environment Department has also agreed to other practical improvements, such as opening the entrances to the El Retiro municipal library and Florida Park half an hour after the park reopens following a closure, rather than the two hours stipulated by the previous rule. In addition, an outside firm has been commissioned to study the trees in El Retiro Park to assess whether it is possible to divide the park into zones and avoid blanket closures: the idea would be to close only the most exposed areas in the event of a red alert.diario.