Northern and central interior at maximum risk of rural fires

A large part of the districts of Bragança, Guarda and Castelo Branco, in the central interior, are at maximum risk of rural fires this Friday, according to data from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

This forecast also extends to the south of the country, to six municipalities in the district of Faro: Portimão, Silves, Monchique, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel and Tavira.

In the northern region, the IPMA predicts maximum rural fire danger for the entire Guarda district and for almost the entire Bragança district, except for Vinhais and Carrazeda de Ansiães.

Trofa, Gondomar and Valongo are the municipalities in Porto that are also at maximum risk of rural fires.

The forecast also covers some inland municipalities of Viseu, Leiria, Coimbra, and Santarém. In the central region, Castelo Branco is also covered by this forecast, except for the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova.

In the Lisbon metropolitan area, only the municipality of Loures is expected to be in very high danger , the rest are in high to moderate danger.

The IPMA forecasts generally clear skies for this Friday, with temporary increasing cloud cover in the interior during the afternoon.

A drop in temperatures is also expected on the coast , with the districts of Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Lisbon and Faro being the only ones outside the yellow weather warning for hot weather for the mainland.

The maximum temperatures expected for this Friday will vary between 27 degrees in Sagres and Sines and 38 in Castelo Branco and 39 in Évora.

The IPMA warned on Thursday of the “hot weather episode”, forecast for between this Friday and Wednesday in mainland Portugal, which is expected to be “considerably severe” due to its duration and expected maximum temperatures, between 36 and 44 degrees Celsius.

In light of these forecasts, the IPMA has already placed all districts of mainland Portugal, with the exception of Faro, under an orange warning between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm on Sunday, due to the "persistence of very high maximum temperatures."