The month of July was the hottest in the last 92 years, with temperatures almost always above normal and with a record high of 47ºC in Pinhão, a new extreme for July on the continent.
The data is part of the climate report for July published this Friday by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), which classifies the month of July 2022, in mainland Portugal, as extremely hot relative to air temperature and very dry relative to precipitation.
In an “exceptional” month, the absolute extremes of maximum temperature were exceeded in 28 stations and minimum temperature in 21 stations.
Between July 7 and 14, 98 new maximum temperature records were recorded, with the largest number of absolute records on the 14th and monthly records on the 13th″, says the IPMA.
Last month, the average value of the average air temperature was 25.14ºC (degrees Celsius), almost three degrees (2.97ºC) above the normal value.
The average maximum air temperature, above 33 °C (33.16 °C), was the second highest since 1931 (provided there are records), only exceeded by the month of July 2020). It was 4.44ºC higher than normal.
In the document, the IPMA points out that the four highest values of the average maximum temperature in July occurred after 2000.
The average value of the minimum temperature (17.13ºC) also it was almost two degrees above normaland was the fourth highest since 1931.
During the month of July, the IPMA also says, the air temperature values were almost always well above the normal value, with exceptionally hot periods, such as between 07 and 17 and between 20 and 26, and even 29 and 31.
In addition to the 47ºC on the 14th recorded at the Pinhão station, the IPMA highlights the persistence of very high minimum, average and maximum temperature values on several days, and says that the 13th was the hottest day this year on the continent. and the fifth hottest day this century.
Taking into account the average for the continent, in July the country had average temperatures above 25 degrees and Average maximum temperature values above 34 degrees on 11 consecutive days. And for three days in a row, the average values of the maximum temperature were above 38 degrees, which confirms an “exceptional character” of the month of July.
This exceptional character, of extreme heat, contributed to the period from January to July this year being the third warmest in 92 years, only surpassed by the identical periods of 2020 and 2017.
As for rainfall, July was the fourth driest since 2000, with rainfall totals corresponding to just 22% of normal.
At the end of July, compared to the end of June, there was “a significant decrease in the percentage of water in the soil throughout the territory, which were more significant in the Center and South regions,” says the IPMA, which highlights the increase . in the area with values less than 10% and equal to the permanent wilting point.
On July 31, with the entire country in meteorological drought, there was an increase in the area in the extreme drought class: 55% of the territory is in the severe drought class and 45% in the extreme drought class.
Source: Observadora
