According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, the areas of Évora, Faro, Setúbal, Beja, Santarem and Portalegre are under a yellow warning from 12:00 this Thursday due to the persistence of high maximum temperatures.
According to information available on the IPMA’s online page, six districts are under yellow warning from 12:00 this Thursday and will remain so until 6:00 pm on Friday due to hot weather.
On Wednesday, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) recommended additional heat protection measures following IPMA’s forecast for temperatures to rise from this Thursday, with the maximum temperature reaching 38 degrees.
IPMA predicts further increase
The IPMA is forecasting a rise in maximum temperatures over the next few days, which could lead to an increased risk of rural fires.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the IPMA justified the rise in temperatures as “the establishment of an anticyclonic ridge over the Bay of Biscay and a trough extending from Morocco to the Iberian Peninsula, which will lead to favorable atmospheric circulation leading to a situation of hot and dry weather on the Portuguese mainland.”
Temperatures are expected to increase in the coming days, especially maximums, with values above 30 degrees in most of the area, with the exception of some places on the western coastal strip, and values between 35 and 38 degrees in the interior regions of the Center and South.
Minimum temperatures are also expected to rise, with values between 20 and 22 degrees expected in Beira Baixa, Alto Alentejo and the eastern Algarve on Thursday and Friday.
According to IPMA, these meteorological conditions, associated with low relative humidity values, will lead to a significant increase in the risk of rural fires.
The IPMA provides for maximum or very high rural fire danger values in several municipalities in the northern and central interior, as well as in the southern region, with implications for restrictions on the use of fire and activities permitted in rural areas.
DSS makes recommendations
Given the hot weather forecast, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) has recommended taking additional heat protection measures, advising the public to seek cool and ventilated or air-conditioned spaces.
The GHS also recommends choosing times when it’s cooler to travel by car, and calls for “special attention” to groups most vulnerable to heat, such as children, the elderly, chronically ill people, pregnant women, people with limited mobility, and working workers. outdoors, practicing physical activity and isolated people.