High fire risk in Portugal

Thirteen municipalities in the districts of Faro, Bragança and Portalegre, on 27 May, are at a very high risk of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).

At high risk are the municipalities of Alfândega da Fé, Mogadouro, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Vimioso, Bragança, Vinhais (Bragança), Gavião (Portalegre), Silves, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira, Castro Marim and Alcoutim (Faro).

The IPMA also placed several municipalities in the districts of Faro, Beja, Santarém, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Viseu, Aveiro, Braga, Vila Real, Braga and Bragança at high fire risk.

According to the IPMA, at least until the weekend the risk of fire will remain very high in several counties on the continent.

This fire risk determined by the IPMA has five levels, ranging from reduced to maximum.

The calculations for this risk are obtained from air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and amount of precipitation in the last 24 hours.

Because of the hot weather, the IPMA placed the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Lisbon, Faro and Setúbal under yellow warning until 9pm on 27 May due to the persistence of high values ??of the maximum temperature.

The yellow warning is issued by the IPMA whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities depending on the weather situation.

The IPMA forecasts on the continent little cloudy or clear skies, temporarily increasing cloudiness during the afternoon, especially in the north and centre interior, where there is a possibility of scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially in mountainous regions.

The forecast also points to light to moderate wind from the east quadrant, blowing moderately on the south coast of the Algarve, temporarily from the northwest on the western coast during the afternoon.

In the highlands, the wind will blow moderate to strong from the east quadrant, sometimes with gusts up to 55 kilometres per hour, weakening temporarily during the afternoon.

There is also a slight increase in the minimum temperature in the northern and central regions.

The minimum temperatures on the continent will vary between 14 degrees Celsius (in Guarda) and 22 (in Viana do Castelo) and the maximum between 26 (in Guarda) and 35 (in Santarém and Setúbal).