Madrid Braced For April Heatwave As City Hall Ponders Opening Pools Early
Despite today’s dampening, Madrid, like much of the Peninsula will be in the grip of a Spring heatwave next week with temperatures in the capital expected to reach a high of 32 degrees on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th April.
The unseasonably high temperatures has opened the possibility of an early opening of the city’s 19 public open air swimming pools.
Madrid’s Mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, said that the capital “is in a position” to open the municipal swimming pools in the face of the high temperatures expected “if necessary”.
These words come one day after the Madrid municipal spokesperson, Inmaculada Sanz, stated that this could be timed for the San Isidro Bank Holiday on the 15th May, if need be.”
If baking summer temperatures come early to Madrid, as appears to be the case, the move could be an election winner for the Partido Popular mayor with municipal elections due on 28th May.
Tiempo previsto en Madrid desde 22-04-2023 hasta 28-04-2023. Info siempre actualizada en https://t.co/UN8UlhSjEN pic.twitter.com/31ymX4X5pe
— AEMET_Madrid (@AEMET_Madrid) April 22, 2023
Last year which saw Madrid swelter for the best part of three months, saw the occupancy rate of the capital’s open air municipal swimming pools reach an average of 53% on weekdays and 77% on weekends compared to 2021 which saw 44% and 56% respectively.
A spokesperson for the State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, Ruben del Campo, pointed out that during the first 16 days of April, barely 5 litres per square metre of rain have fallen in Spain as a whole, an “extraordinarily low amount that represents just 15% of the normal level fort his time of year.”
Despite this weekend’s downpours, the month of April has not brought its supposed showers and the capital has not seen a drop of rain since 8th March.
If April finishes without further heavy rains to make up the difference the Spain will finish the month with the lowest April rainfall figures since 1961.
