Portugal braces itself for high temperatures in new heatwave
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Tourists resting in the shade outside Jeronimos Monastery in Belem, during a heatwave in Lisbon on May 27.
PHOTO: AFP
- Portugal is on red alert for extreme heat, with temperatures expected to reach up to 44°C in some areas.
- The heatwave will last for at least a week, with coastal areas experiencing little sea breeze and warm nights above 24°C.
- This heatwave is part of Europe’s most severe recorded event, driven by climate change, breaking records across many countries including France and the UK.
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LISBON - Parts of Portugal will be placed on red alert after being relatively spared from Europe’s worst heatwave which set records in several countries.
The country’s IPMA weather agency said the Lisbon and Setubal regions on the coast will be on red alert for high temperatures on July 2.
That will be extended on July 3 to the Leiria and Coimbra areas farther north, where temperatures could hit 44 deg C in places.
An orange alert was imposed on July 1 for four inland regions, including Evora, where 41 deg C could be reached, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said.
“Usually we get temperatures like this in August; this year, they’re happening earlier,” said Jose Bonifacio, a 31-year-old busker in a square in downtown Evora, a mediaeval city about 133km east of Lisbon.
The cobbled alleyways of this historic city emptied in the afternoon heat, while tourists took refuge in cafes or on shaded terraces, sometimes cooled by fans.
“The afternoon is very tough, but those who work have to hold out,” said Carlos Guedes, a 53-year-old construction worker from the north of the country who said he is “not used to such intense heat”.
The second-highest warning will be extended to all regions not on red alert, it added.
“During this period of very hot weather, the most notable element is its duration, which should be for at least a week,” the IPMA said in a statement on the night of June 30.
Coastal regions will be hotter due to a lack of sea breeze, while nighttime temperatures may not fall below 24 to 28 deg C for several nights, it added.
The Portuguese government has called on the population to follow the recommendations of the health authorities and asked municipalities to identify premises that can shelter vulnerable people identified by health services.
These could be public buildings or churches, as well as private premises such as shopping centres and hotels, Secretary of State for Health Ana Povo told a press conference on July 1.
The recent heatwave was the most severe ever recorded in Europe, and would have been “virtually impossible” in June without climate change, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists said.
All-time temperature records have been broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as for the month of June in the UK and in Switzerland.
France faced record-breaking average temperatures, with the country experiencing its highest-ever nighttime temperatures. AFP
