Alcobendas faces this Wednesday, July 22, the most intense day of the third heatwave of the summer, with highs of 39 degrees and an orange alert from AEMET. Thermal relief will not arrive until Friday, July 24.
The thermometer registered 23 degrees in Alcobendas this morning, and it won't be until late on Friday night that residents of the northern metropolitan area can breathe a sigh of relief. The third heatwave of July 2026 has placed the town at the epicentre of the orange alert activated by the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) for the entire Community of Madrid, with maximum temperatures hovering around 39 degrees in the urban area and the Business Park.
What differentiates this episode from the previous two, according to AEMET data, is not only the peak intensity but also the persistence. From Tuesday to Thursday, temperatures will remain above alert thresholds for four consecutive days, a stationary pattern with warm air masses from North Africa that multiplies the accumulated impact on the body. Tropical nights — with minimums above 20 degrees — have settled in the metropolitan area as a constant that hinders rest and raises risks for the most vulnerable groups.
AEMET has set the highest risk period between 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM this Wednesday. In the Sierra de Madrid, temperatures will also exceed 37 degrees, although with a lighter increase in the northern part of the community. In areas like La Moraleja, the century-old trees act as a natural thermal regulator and can lower the perceived temperature several degrees compared to the urban centre or the more concreted areas of the municipality.
Thermal relief has a date: starting Friday, July 24, a mass of cooler Atlantic air is expected to enter from the northwest of the peninsula, initiating a gradual decrease in temperatures. AEMET has specified that the most likely scenario indicates that the weekend will remain warm, with still high maximums and mild nights in urban areas, but without the alert warnings that have marked this week.
An additional element complicates today's situation in northern Madrid. AEMET has also activated yellow alerts for storms in the Community of Madrid during the afternoon, with the possibility of locally heavy showers, hail, and strong winds in areas near the Sierra. The contrast between the extreme heat of the central hours and the afternoon storms is a common phenomenon in the interior of the peninsula in summer, but it is worth considering if any outdoor activities are planned during the evening hours.
The succession of heatwaves is turning the summer of 2026 into one of the hottest in recent times. According to AEMET, this is the third significant episode of July, when reaching 40 degrees was once exceptional. Climate change is accelerating this process in a documented manner: between 2011 and 2020, Spain recorded double the number of heatwaves compared to the previous three decades, and the trend for 2026 confirms that this acceleration not only continues but intensifies.
The Community of Madrid continues to implement its Monitoring and Control Plan for the Effects of Heatwaves, with a daily bulletin published on the website comunidad.madrid that includes data municipality by municipality and updated recommendations. The Alcobendas City Council has available covered sports facilities with air conditioning — Valdelasfuentes and José Caballero — as cool spaces that any resident can access during opening hours. The municipal summer pools, with reduced entry prices for residents, are also an effective alternative during the hottest hours, although it is advisable to avoid peak sun exposure between 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
For those with elderly or dependent individuals at home, the health authorities' recommendations are particularly clear during peak days. Keeping rooms ventilated at night and closed with blinds down during the day, ensuring they drink water frequently even if they are not thirsty, and avoiding any physical exertion during the central hours are the three measures that have the most impact on preventing heat strokes. The Community of Madrid's emergency contact number for heat-related emergencies is 112.
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