Inner north and center remain at maximum fire risk

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), about a hundred municipalities in the north and center remain at maximum fire risk this Wednesday.

About 100 other municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Vila Real, Porto, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Coimbra, Santarem and Portalegre are at maximum risk, according to IPMA.

IPMA places about 50 municipalities at very high risk in the districts of Faro, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro, Porto, Vila Real, Braga and Viana do Castelo.

Already more than 60 municipalities in the districts of Faro, Beja, Évora, Portalegre, Santarém, Lisbon, Leiria, Aveiro, Porto, Braga and Viana do Castelo are at risk.

The fire risk defined by IPMA has five levels, from minimum to maximum, and calculations are made based on air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 5,758 fires have already occurred on an area of ​​25,001 hectares of rural areas. By the last day of July, the fires had destroyed more than 10,545 hectares of the countryside.

This Wednesday, IPMA predicts continued hot weather inland and a decrease in maximum temperature in the center and on the northern coast, with the exception of the northeast of Trás os Montes, as well as a slight increase in maximum temperature in the Algarve.

Periods of very cloudy skies are also forecast, with a gradual decrease in cloudiness from south to north from the beginning of the day, and it may remain in places on the coastal strip north of Cabo Raso, where it can rain until late in the morning.

In terms of temperature, the minimum temperature will range from 17ºC (Vila Real, Braga, Viana do Castelo, Viseu and Sines) to 22ºC (Castelo Branco) and the maximum temperature will range from 23ºC (Viana do Castelo) to 38ºC (Braganza).