Thirteen areas of mainland Portugal remain under orange alert today due to hot weather, according to IPMA, on a day when more than 40 municipalities are at maximum risk of rural fires.
The areas of Bragança, Viseu, Évora, Guarda, Faro, Vila Real, Setúbal, Santarém, Lisbon, Beja, Castelo Branco, Portalegre and Braga are under orange alert until 6pm on Wednesday, then turn yellow until 6pm on Thursday.
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has also placed the areas of Porto, Viana do Castelo, Leiria, Aveiro and Coimbra under yellow alert until 6:00 pm this Wednesday due to persistent high maximum temperatures.
The highest maximum temperature forecast for Wednesday will be reached in Beja with 42 degrees, followed by Evora and Castelo Branco with 41 degrees, and Portalegre and Santarem with 40.
In the Vila Real area the maximum temperature will be 39 degrees, in Lisbon, Viseu, Braga and Bragança – 38 degrees, and in Faro – 36 degrees.
The Madeira archipelago has also been issued a yellow alert until 6pm this Wednesday due to hot weather.
An orange warning is issued by IPMA whenever a “moderate to high risk meteorological situation” occurs, and a yellow warning when there is a risk situation for certain activities depending on the meteorological situation.
Due to the hot weather, more than 40 municipalities in the districts of Faro, Portalegre, Santarem, Castelo Branco, Viseu, Guarda and Bragança face the highest risk of rural fires.
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 Sunday.
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.
IPMA forecasts today on the continent continued hot weather with partly cloudy to clear skies, light to moderate winds from the western quadrant and a slight decrease in maximum temperatures on the coasts of the northern and central regions and a slight increase in the Algarve.
Minimum temperatures will range from 17 degrees Celsius (in Setubal) to 25 degrees (in Portalegre), and maximum temperatures will range from 25 degrees (in Aveiro) to 42 degrees (in Beja).
For the Madeira archipelago, IPMA expects periods of very cloudy weather with gradual cloud cover from early morning, light to moderate north/north-east winds and a slight increase in maximum temperatures in the highlands.
In Funchal, temperatures will range from 21 to 28 degrees, and in Porto Santo from 21 to 26 degrees.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.