Miguel A. Lopes / Lusa
Red warning in four districts. Temperatures between 35 and 44 degrees in most of the territory, and during the night the minimum temperatures will not drop below 20°C, and may even be between 25 and 28°C in some regions.
The hot climate affecting Portugal will give rise to a heat wave that will last for eight to 10 days and will affect practically the entire country, estimated the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The exception will be some locations on the west and south coast.
“In relation to the waves that occurred in 2026, we can highlight the maximum duration of 14 days, in the wave that occurred in March, and 13 in the heat waves of April, May and June”, indicated the IPMA.
Since the beginning of the year, the IPMA team estimates that there have been 59 days of heat waves, with 80 days of heat waves recorded in 2023 and in 2024 the data points to 74 days. However, it is in the summer period that the impact is most felt.
What is this heat due to?
The situation that is affecting Portugal originates “from a joint action” of an anticyclone centered in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, extending in a ridge to the British Isles, and a depression in North Africa which, “in their joint circulation”, transport very hot and dry air from North Africa to the mainland.
“It should be noted that in addition to the very high maximum temperature values, which will reach between 35 and 44 degrees in most of the territory, during the night the minimum temperatures will not drop below 20°C, and may even be between 25 and 28°C in some regions”, including Greater Lisbon, specified the IPMA.
“The exceptionality of this episode of hot weather lies essentially in its very long duration,” according to the Institute.
Notices
The districts of Lisbon and Setúbal will be under red warning due to the heat from Thursday, extending to Coimbra and Leiria on Friday.
The districts of Évora, Beja and Portalegre will be under orange warning from Wednesday due to the heat, which will extend to other regions on Thursday.
Almost 20 municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Portalegre and Faro face maximum fire danger and all interior districts have municipalities at very high risk.
Impact on mortality in Portugal
In Portugal, the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, admitted concerns about the approaching heat wave and admitted that temperatures will have an impact on mortality like other countries.
The Portuguese Federation of Lifeguards, in turn, warned of an increased risk of drowning in the coming days, due to the expected rise in temperatures and called on authorities to include this risk in warning messages to the population.
More than 1300 deaths in Europe
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the heat wave that has hit much of Europe has been ongoing since June 21, while several countries in Central and Eastern Europe are facing record temperatures.
The WHO called on European countries to reinforce prevention and response plans to extreme temperatures, highlighting the need to integrate these measures into climate change adaptation strategies.
47.3º C: record is from 2003
The “most impactful” heat wave in mainland Portugal during the summer was the one recorded in July/August 2003, “not only due to its spatial and temporal extension”, with several air temperature records being broken, which still remains today, highlighted the IPMA. That year, 47.3 degrees Celsius were recorded in Amareleja, municipality of Moura (Alentejo).
IPMA records also include eight heat waves in 2024 and seven heat waves, with different territorial extensions on the continent, in the following years: 2009, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023.
