Red heat warning extended to 12 districts until Sunday

IPMA, Portugal’s national meteorological institute, has increased the number of districts in mainland Portugal under a red heat warning from 10 to 12. The situation is set to continue until Sunday in most of the 12 areas.

The red warning is the most serious on a three-tier scale. It is currently in force in the districts of Portalegre, Évora, Beja, Santarém, Lisbon, Viana do Castelo, Porto, Braga, Coimbra, Aveiro, Leiria and Setúbal.

In most cases, the alert will remain in place until 11pm on Sunday, but in Lisbon and Setúbal it will finish at 11pm today., after which the alert will be downgraded to amber.

The red alert comes at a time when mainland Portugal is experiencing very high temperatures, with maximums reaching up to 44°C and minimums between 24°C and 28°C.

A state of alert has been declared until midnight on Monday, prohibiting the use of machinery in agricultural activities, and activities generally in forested areas – and wildfires are already becoming a serious problem in northern areas, due to strong winds.

Train services cancelled, due to heat

In a statement issued this morning, CP (Comboios de Portugal) has said it is cancelling “a limited number of services identified as being most vulnerable to the current weather conditions”. These are:

IC 517 (Lisbon – Santa Apolónia 12:30 p.m. / Guarda 4:44 p.m.);

IC 512 (Guarda 12:48 p.m. / Lisbon – Santa Apolónia 5:00 p.m.);

IC 523 (Lisbon – Santa Apolónia 3:30 p.m. / Porto – Campanhã 6:43 p.m.);

IC 524 (Porto – Campanhã 12:45 p.m. / Lisbon – Santa Apolónia 4:00 p.m.);

IC 572 (Lisbon – Oriente 2:02 p.m. / Faro 5:35 p.m.);

IC 672 (Faro 2:15 p.m. / Lisbon – Oriente 5:56 p.m.).

“Exceptionally high temperatures pose additional challenges for any railway system. In this context, CP has been implementing a series of operational measures aimed at minimising the impact of these extreme conditions and ensuring the best possible thermal comfort on board. To this end, parked trains are kept with the curtains drawn and doors closed, and, whenever operationally feasible, they will remain powered during the parking period, ensuring more appropriate comfort levels for passengers,” the statement adds.

As this report went up online, the situation of the fire that began in Vouzela, Viseu district, appears to be getting even more critical. CNN Portugal reports that the village of Covelo, in Oliveira dos Frades, is completely encircled by flames.

Further information to follow.

Source: LUSA/ CNN Portugal

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.