Meteorological drought intensified in the southern region of Portugal in March.

According to the latest climate bulletin from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), the meteorological drought situation worsened in the Portuguese mainland in March and worsened in the southern region.

On March 31, 48% of the territory was in a meteorological drought, and on the last day of February – 28%.

According to IPMA, the intensity of meteorological drought has increased in the southern region, especially in the areas of Setubal and Beja, as well as in some places in the eastern Algarve, which are classified as severe drought.

On the other hand, in the Northern and Central regions, there was a decrease in rain classes, and some places in the North-East region were already in the weak drought class on the last day of the month.

At the end of March, 24% of the territory was in the normal class, 23.7% in slightly arid, 15.5% in low rainy, 14.2% in moderately dry, 10.2% in severe drought and 2.4% in moderately rainy.

IPMA confirms that at the end of March, the percentage of water in the soil decreased significantly throughout the territory, with the exception of the northern coast, where there was an increase in the areas of Viana do Castelo, Braga and part of the Vila Real area.

The Institute categorizes the meteorological drought index into nine classes that range from “extreme rain” to “extreme drought”.

In addition to the drought index, the IPMA Climatology Bulletin indicates that the month of March was classified as hot and dry.

The average values ​​of the average, maximum and minimum temperature in March were above the norm.

In terms of precipitation, IPMA notes that the March average of 47.9 millimeters corresponds to 78% of normal.

During the month, more significant amounts of precipitation fell in the first half of the month and especially on the Northern and Central coasts.