According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), which has issued a yellow alert in nine areas of the continent, more than 50 municipalities are at maximum risk of fire this Friday due to the hot weather.
These fifty municipalities belong to the districts of Faro, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Santarem, Bragança, Vila Real and Guarda.
The highest maximum temperature forecast for this Friday will be reached in Castelo Branco with 39 degrees, followed by Evora and Beja with 37 degrees, Portalegre and Bragança with 36 degrees and Vila Real with 34 degrees.
IPMA has also placed several municipalities in all districts of mainland Portugal at very high fire risk.
IPMA estimates that fire danger will remain in some areas until at least Tuesday.
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 areas of Bragança, Viseu, Évora, Guarda, Faro, Vila Real, Beja, Castelo Branco and Portalegre until 6:00 pm this Friday.
The north and south coasts of Madeira and the island of Porto Santo are also under a yellow warning for hot weather until 6pm this Friday.
A yellow warning is issued when a risk situation arises for certain activities due to weather conditions.
IPMA forecasts this Friday for the continent partly cloudy to clear skies, strong winds at times on the west coast and in the highlands, morning cloudiness on the west coast, slightly lower minimum temperatures and slightly higher maximums on the north and central coasts and a descent in the eastern Algarve.
Minimum temperatures will range from 15 degrees Celsius (in Coimbra) to 19 degrees Celsius (in Faro, Lisbon and Braganca), while maximum temperatures will range from 24 (in Aveiro) to 39 (in Castelo Branco).
For the Madeira archipelago, IPMA forecasts periods of very cloudy weather becoming lightly cloudy or clear in the afternoon, light to moderate winds from the north/northeast and cooling temperatures in the highlands.
In Funchal, temperatures will range from 22 to 27 degrees, and in Porto Santo from 20 to 26 degrees.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.