The Algarve will be the coolest region in Portugal this Tuesday, on a day in which historical maximum temperatures can be reached in mainland Portugal. According to data from the Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, the district of Faro is the only one on yellow alert, while the rest of the country is on orange or red alert — and the Algarve is also the only region in the country where the maximum temperatures forecast for this Tuesday do not exceed 30ºC.

In the Eastern Algarve, the IPMA forecast points to maximum temperatures of 29ºC and minimum temperatures of 21ºC. In Barlavento the maximum temperature will be 30ºC, with a minimum of 25ºC. These are forecasts that contrast greatly with the rest of the Portuguese map, with maximum temperatures above 40ºC forecast for several districts: Braga, Vila Real, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Leiria, Portalegre, Santarém, Lisbon, Setúbal, Évora and Beja.

In the remaining districts, maximum temperatures are close to this threshold of 40ºC. In Viana do Castelo, the maximum is 37ºC; in Braganza, 39ºC; in Porto, 35ºC; in Aveiro, 36ºC; in Viseu, 39ºC; in Guarda, 36ºC. The forecast in the region of Sines is also around 38ºC.

These temperatures translate into red weather alerts in Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Vila Real, Bragança, Guarda, Castelo Branco and Portalegre, and orange weather alerts in Aveiro, Viseu, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém, Lisboa, Setúbal, Évora and Baby. . Only in the Algarve is the yellow notice.

IPMA President says “very complicated” period could last until Saturday

These high temperatures are expected to continue throughout this week and, although an increase in weather warnings or an extension of the red alert to the entire country is not expected for now, The critical period of the fires should extend until Saturdaysaid the president of the IPMA, Miguel Miranda, this Tuesday morning to Rádio Observador.

“Today a very, very complicated period of rural fire risk will begin, which apparently may extend beyond Thursday, as initially planned, until Friday or perhaps Saturday,” said Miguel Miranda. “We are going to be in the same type of situation for several days in a row. We are very concerned about this. Because this means that people and the media will get more and more tired.”

“We are being hit by an air mass coming from North Africa that is very hot and very dry. And there is also a set of important aerosols that will invade the skies of the Portuguese peninsula”, explained Miguel Miranda, stressing that “very hot, very dry times will continue to occur throughout the territory”. “After a particularly dry year, which was the hydrological year 2021-2022, we are in a situation where there is little care,” he stressed.

Miguel Miranda also highlights the risk of electrical storms that currently occur in the country. “Yesterday there were electrical discharges in the central zone of the country, and today they will probably intensify. A dry thunderstorm, as I think many of you know, is a major hazard that can lead to a large rural fire. So the hope we have is that we can beat them almost immediately,” he explained.