Madrid faced a critical day of heat with temperatures reaching 40 degrees

The warning remained active between 13:00 and 20:00 in the Metropolitana y Henares and Sur, Vegas y Oeste areas. In the Sierra, the level was yellow, although the lower areas also recorded very high temperatures.

Madrid city was around 38 degrees during the middle of the day, with a low close to 24. The heat was particularly felt in streets with little shade, asphalted squares and dense neighbourhoods where the temperature takes longer to fall after sunset.

Municipalities such as Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez, Getafe and Navalcarnero were among the places where the episode was most intense. In the eastern and southern valleys of the Comunidad, thermometers could locally approach the 40-degree barrier.

The sky remained mostly clear, although some developing cloud appeared in the Sierra during the afternoon. The wind was light, predominantly from the south and south-west during the hottest hours, without bringing significant relief.

Night-time temperatures were once again another of the problems. In the capital they barely dropped below 24 degrees, prolonging the heat into the early hours and making it difficult for homes and streets to return to more comfortable temperatures.

Recommendations focused on avoiding physical exertion during the middle of the day, drinking water frequently and reducing direct exposure to the sun. Older people, children, people with chronic illnesses and those who work outdoors were the groups needing the greatest caution.

The day made it clear that the heat does not disappear when the afternoon ends. In Madrid, extreme highs are increasingly combined with very warm nights, making it necessary to reorganise everything from walks and sport to working hours and outdoor plans for much of the summer.