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Madrid experiences its coolest August day since 1998 before the heat returns
Madrid has experienced an unusual respite in the middle of August. The El Retiro observatory recorded a maximum of just 21.4 degrees this Thursday, the lowest value for a day in this month since 1998 and a temperature hard to find in Madrid summers of the 21st century.
The change was noticeable from early in the day. After weeks of warm nights and afternoons above 30 degrees, an influx of cold air left temperatures between eight and ten degrees below the usual values for late August.
The difference was quickly felt on the streets. Walking through El Retiro, crossing the centre at midday or sitting on a terrace no longer required constantly seeking shade, while the nights allowed windows to be opened without encountering the hot air accumulated during the day.
The figure of 21.4 degrees is not an absolute record in the long series at Madrid’s observatory, which began at the end of the 19th century. It is, however, extraordinary in recent times: one has to go back to 1998 to find an August day with an equal or lower maximum.
The respite, however, will last only a short time. This Friday temperatures have already begun to recover, and on Saturday central Madrid will be around 30 degrees, with clear skies and a minimum close to 15 or 16.
On Sunday the rise will be even more evident. Thermometers may reach around 32 degrees in the capital and conditions will once again be fully summery, although still far from the most intense heat episodes recorded this summer.
The start of next week will maintain that upward trend. The anticyclone will bring dry, sunny and increasingly warm days, with maximums that could once again generally exceed 30 degrees.
The episode therefore leaves one of those contrasts especially remembered at the end of summer: light jackets and open windows for a few hours, followed almost immediately by the return of sunshine and afternoons above 30 degrees. Madrid has had its pause, but August is not over yet.