Seventeen municipalities in five districts are in the maximum fire danger zone

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), this Thursday seventeen municipalities in the districts of Faro, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Santarém and Guarda are at maximum risk of rural fires due to the hot weather.

The municipalities at greatest risk of fire are Loulé, São Bras Alportel, Tavira (Faro), Marvão, Portalegre, Castelo de Vide, Nisa, Gaviao (Portalegre), Vila Velha de Rodão, Fundão, Penamacor, Covilhã, Belmonte, Proença-a-Nova (Castelo Branco), Masão, Sardoal (Santarém) and Sabugal (Guarda).

IPMA also placed more than 50 municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Vila Real, Viseu, Guarda, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Portalegre, Beja and Faro at very high fire risk.

IPMA estimates that fire danger will remain in some areas until at least Monday.

This risk, defined by IPMA, has five levels, from low to maximum. The calculations are based on air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and the amount of precipitation over the past 24 hours.

Due to the heat, IPMA has issued a yellow warning for the districts of Bragança, Évora, Guarda, Faro, Setúbal, Beja, Castelo Branco and Portalegre until 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

A yellow warning, the least serious of the three, is issued by IPMA whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities depending on the meteorological situation.

IPMA forecasts variable cloudiness to clear skies across the continent this Thursday, generally light winds, sometimes moderate on the coast in the afternoon, and rising temperatures, especially maximums in the central and southern regions.

Minimum temperatures will range from 13 degrees Celsius (in Braga and Coimbra) to 22 (in Faro), and maximum temperatures from 23 (in Aveiro) to 40 (in Evora).