A heat wave will affect the Madeira archipelago between today and Friday, August 25, with temperatures expected to reach 35°C, the Civil Protection Service of the autonomous region said.
“During these days, temperatures are expected to vary between 29 and 35°C on the south coast and in the intermediate heights of Madeira, 27 to 30°C at the highest points, on the north coast of the island of Madeira and in Porto Santo. In the coastal regions, minimum temperatures should vary between 23 and 26°C,” the institution said in a statement.
The Civil Protection Service clarifies that the forecast was issued by the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), which today placed the archipelago under a yellow warning for hot weather, changing to an orange warning from 00:00 on Sunday until 06:00 on Tuesday.
The IPMA issues an orange warning when there is a moderate to high risk weather situation and a yellow warning whenever there is a risk to certain activities depending on the weather situation.
The heatwave in the Madeira archipelago is the result of a hot, dry air mass. Between today and August 25, relative humidity levels will be persistently low, generally below 60% in coastal regions and below 30% in mountainous regions.
According to the forecast, the wind will blow from the north or northeast, temporarily from the east, weak to moderate (up to 30 km/h), occasionally with gusts of up to 70 km/h in the mountainous regions and in the eastern and western extremes of Madeira.
“In general, this heatwave should be felt with greater or lesser intensity throughout the Madeira Archipelago, so the weather warnings issued by the IPMA and the respective updates should be followed,” warns the Regional Civil Protection Service.
The organization recommends “adapting behaviors and attitudes” to the situation of rural fire danger, namely by adopting preventive and precautionary measures, avoiding behaviors such as making bonfires for recreation or leisure, or for cooking food, smoking or making fires of any kind in forest spaces, burning cut bushes and using burning and combustion equipment.
