Almost the entire territory of continental Portugal presents this Tuesday a maximum and very high danger of rural fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).

Most counties in highest rural fire danger are in the inland north and central and in the Algarve.

Fire risk, determined by the IPMA, has five levels, ranging from low to high.

The calculations are obtained from the air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and the amount of precipitation in the last 24 hours.

Due to the weather forecasts for the coming days, which point to an aggravation of the risk of rural fires, mainland Portugal entered at midnight in a contingency situation.

The declaration of the contingency situation began at 00:00 today and should end at 23:59 on Friday, but, as the Ministry of the Interior (MAI) has already indicated, it may “be extended if necessary.” and “does not exclude the adoption of other measures resulting from the permanent monitoring of the situation.”

Eight districts under red heat warning and nine under orange warning

The districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Vila Real, Bragança, Guarda, Castelo Branco and Portalegre will be on red alert from 9:00 a.m. this Tuesday, the most serious, due to the heat, according to the IPMA.

The red alert, issued by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere, due to the persistence of extremely high values ​​of the maximum temperature, will be in force until 18:00 on Wednesday, then go orange.

According to the IPMA, the red warning corresponds to “an extreme risk weather situation”.

In view of the forecasts, almost the entire territory of mainland Portugal presents a maximum and very high risk of rural fire.

The IPMA also issued an orange warning for the districts of Aveiro, Viseu, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém, Lisbon, Setúbal, Évora and Beja due to hot weather from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Faro district is under yellow alert due to the persistence of high values ​​of the maximum temperature (until 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday) and due to the forecast of maritime agitation, with waves from the southeast with 2 meters (until 3:00 p.m. this Tuesday).

This very hot situation is a consequence of the circulation of a mass of very hot and dry air, originating in North Africa, which will persist until Friday, with temperature values ​​above or well above the average, with the exception of of the coast.