Temperatures in mainland Portugal will rise from Sunday, according to the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA), which warns of a “new episode of hot weather” that could occasionally reach 44ºC.
According to the IPMA, “the maximum temperature is expected to rise across the board over the next few days, with values that between the 21st and 24th will be close to 40°C in the south and inland north and center, and may occasionally reach 44°C in some parts of the Alentejo and Tagus Valley”.
On the north and central coasts, the maximum temperature will be lower, with values between 30 and 35°C, “being lower on the coastal strip”.
During the night, minimum temperatures will also be high, “with values above 20°C (tropical nights) in a large part of the territory, and may not even drop below 25°C in some places in the Algarve, Alentejo and Beira Interior”.
The IPMA predicts that temperatures will only begin to drop generally from Friday onwards, “reaching normal values for the time of year by the weekend of the 26th and 27th”.
Due to the weather situation, the IPMA has issued hot weather warnings, which are available on its online page and are being updated.
Due to the hot weather, Bragança will be under a yellow warning on Sunday, which will then change to orange between the 21st and 22nd.
Viseu, Guarda, Vila Real, Setúbal and Santarém will also be under a yellow warning on Sunday, but this will change to orange over the course of the week.
In the Alentejo, Évora, Beja and Portalegre are some of the regions that will also see a similar pattern.
Faro will have an orange warning on Sunday, while Lisbon will have a yellow warning until the 22nd, when it will change to orange.
The IPMA explains that the rise in temperature is related to “an anticyclonic ridge that extends from the Azores to Central Europe, promoting the transport of a mass of hot, dry air originating in North Africa over the territory of the continent”.
