Twelve districts in mainland Portugal are under an orange weather warning, the second most severe level, starting today until Tuesday, due to high temperatures, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has announced.
Until 6:00 PM today, the districts of Bragança and Vila Real are on a red warning, the most severe on the three-tier scale, after which they will transition to an orange warning, lasting until 6:00 PM Tuesday, based on the latest IPMA forecast released today.
Viseu, Évora, Guarda, Beja, Castelo Branco, and Portalegre are under an orange warning since around 10:40 AM today due to persistent very high maximum temperatures, a situation remaining until 6:00 PM Tuesday.
From 9:00 AM Monday until 6:00 PM Tuesday, Faro, Setúbal, Santarém, and Lisbon will also be under an orange warning, transitioning from today’s yellow warning, the least severe level, according to IPMA.
Additionally, Porto, Viana do Castelo, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra, and Braga are under a yellow warning from 10:40 AM today until 6:00 PM Tuesday due to persistent high maximum temperature values in the district’s interior, according to weather forecasts.
In total, all 18 districts of mainland Portugal are subject to IPMA warnings due to the hot weather forecast, with 12 on orange warning and six on yellow warning.
IPMA issues red, orange, and yellow warnings in situations of meteorological risk, which can be evaluated as high, moderate, or reduced risk.
Besides these warnings, IPMA alerts to the risk of rural fires in mainland Portugal, with most municipalities in the North and Center interior and the Algarve region at “maximum” or “very high” risk today and at least until August 18, while the rest of the mainland is at “high” or “moderate” risk.
From August 3 to next Wednesday (August 13), mainland Portugal is on alert due to the high risk of rural fires.
On Thursday, the Government decided to extend the alert status in the country for two main reasons: the continuation of high temperatures nationwide in the coming days and the reduction of fires due to imposed prohibitions.
