Biometeorological aspects of hot nights in the urban area of Madrid

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach to the study of hot nights, also referred to as "tropical", across the city of Madrid in order to identify nights in which people can be affected by heat stress. The use of an indicator obtained via hourly data has allowed us to make a more detailed definition, both in terms of intensity and duration, of the thermal characteristics of summer nights in the months of July and August between 2001 and 2015. In this way, we were able to make a more accurate assessment of the risk to the health and well‐being of the population. There is a significant increase in the frequency of warm nights in urban areas due to the heat island effect. Factors relating to an increase in temperature in urban centers lead to a greater persistence of heat and thermal stress during such nights.