Twenty-one of the five counties are at maximum fire risk.

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), 21 municipalities in Faro, Santarem, Castelo Branco, Portalegre and Coimbra pose the highest risk of rural fires this Wednesday.

Municipalities of Loulé, Sant Bras de Alportel, Tavira, Castro Marim (Faro), Chamusca, Constancia, Vila Nova da Barquinha, Abrantes, Tomar, Ferreira do Zeseri, Sardoal, Masao (Santarén), Vila de Rei, Proenza a Nova, Vila Velha de Rodan, Fundão, Covilhã, Belmonte (Castelo Branco), Gavian, Nisa (Portalegre) and Oliveira do Hospital (Coimbra).

IPMA has also placed more than 80 municipalities in Faro, Beja, Santarem, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Leiria, Coimbra, Viseu, Guarda, Vila Real and Bragança at very high risk.

Several municipalities in all areas of the mainland except Viana do Castelo are at risk of fire this Wednesday.

Due to hot weather, the fire hazard will continue until at least Sunday.

This risk, as defined by IPMA, has five levels, from reduced to maximum, and calculations are made based on air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and rainfall over the past 24 hours.

IPMA predicts cloudy to clear skies for this Wednesday on the continent with periods of greater cloudiness on the central coast until early morning and light to moderate winds from the north quadrant, sometimes strong on the west coast and highlands, especially during the day.

The forecast also indicates fog or morning fog in places along the central coast and a slight increase in temperature, especially inland.

Minimum temperatures range from 16 degrees Celsius (in Coimbra and Leiria) to 25 (in Faro), while maximum temperatures range from 24 (in Aveiro) to 40 (in Évor and Beja).

Since the beginning of the year, 3841 fires have already affected 8758 hectares of rural areas.

Due to hot weather, IPMA is holding the areas of Vila Real, Braganca, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco, Santarem, Portalegre, Setúbal, Évora, Beja and Faro until 18:00 this Wednesday.

However, due to hot weather, the IPMA has placed the south coast of Madeira on an orange alert level until 20:00 this Wednesday, and then on yellow until 21:00 Thursday.

The north coast of Madeira, the mountainous areas and the island of Porto Santo are also under a yellow warning due to the heat until 21:00 Thursday.

An orange warning indicates a meteorological situation with moderate or high risk, and a yellow warning is issued by IPMA whenever a risk situation arises for certain activities depending on the meteorological situation.