About 70 municipalities in seven districts are at maximum fire risk

About 70 municipalities in the districts of Leiria, Viseu, Coimbra, Guarda, Castelo Branco, Portalegre and Santarém pose the highest risk of rural fires this Thursday, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

The IPMA has also placed several municipalities in all districts (18) of the continent at very high and high risk.

The fire danger defined by IPMA has five levels, from minimum to maximum.

Calculations are made based on air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation over the past 24 hours.

Due to IPMA’s forecasts for the coming days of wind, hot and dry weather, the National Emergency Management and Civil Protection Administration (ANEPC) warned on Wednesday of an increased fire risk in rural areas.

The ANEPC said in a statement that the IPMA forecast indicates an increase in maximum temperatures to above 30 degrees Celsius in the southern region and Upper Tagus and strong winds from the eastern quadrant, especially at night and in the morning. in the northern highlands and Centro, with gusts up to 80 kilometers per hour.

IPMA also foresees a relative humidity of less than 30% and an increase in fire risk, from very high to maximum, in the Algarve and in the north and center of the country, with an increase in the north and center of the country.

In this context, in relation to the expected risks, ANEPC notes an increased fire hazard under favorable conditions for the possible emergence and spread of rural fires, as well as an increased complexity of hostilities, especially in the hinterland in the north and in the center, Lisbon and the Tagus Valley and Alentejo.

Since the beginning of the year, 3023 fires have already affected 8268 hectares of rural areas.