A fire that broke out this Sunday in Castelo Branco is being fought by nearly 200 personnel and at least nine aerial resources. Additional firefighting measures are being directed to the location as the blaze remains active.
Information from the Civil Protection site indicated the alert was given at 5:03 PM, with the flames igniting in the municipality of Almaceda.
“There are currently no homes at risk,” said a source from the Beira Baixa Sub-regional Command of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) to Lusa at 6 PM.
When asked about the deployment of approximately 200 operatives to combat this forest fire, a source from the Beira Baixa Sub-regional Command stated it is also due to “atmospheric conditions.”
Note that Castelo Branco is one of the seven districts placed under a red alert by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere due to extreme heat this Sunday. Besides Castelo Branco, the districts of Santarém, Lisbon, Portalegre, Évora, Setúbal, and Beja are under red alert.
For Monday, the same districts remain under red alert.
The remaining districts will have orange (second most severe) and yellow alerts, varying from today through Tuesday.
Heatwave Hits the Country
The IPMA revealed this Sunday that the highest temperature recorded today was 46.6º Celsius in Mora, Évora district, a value close to the country’s absolute maximum on August 1, 2003, when it was 47.3 degrees in Amareleja (Beja), according to the IPMA.
“So far, today’s highest temperature, up to this hour, [was] 46.6ºC in Mora,” stated meteorologist Alexandra Fonseca from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, noting these are preliminary values that require confirmation by the Climate Division.
According to Alexandra Fonseca, the value was recorded at 3:30 PM.
“So far, today’s highest temperature, up to this hour, [was] 46.6ºC in Mora,” stated meteorologist Alexandra Fonseca from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, noting these are preliminary values that require confirmation by the Climate Division.
Lusa | 5:34 PM – 06/29/2025
In a phone conversation an hour later, the meteorologist added that, for now, the temperature is unlikely to rise further today.
On Saturday, temperatures reached 45.4ºC in Alvega, Abrantes municipality, Santarém district.
The meteorologist noted that the highest air temperature ever recorded in Portugal was on August 1, 2003, in Amareleja, Moura municipality, Beja district, at 47.3ºC.
Regarding the maximum temperature for June, “the highest recorded so far was slightly lower, at 44.9ºC, in Alcácer do Sal [Setúbal district], on June 17, 2017,” she declared.
[News updated at 6:34 PM]
