The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) maintains seven districts of mainland Portugal under yellow warning until 9:00 PM on Monday, prolonging a severe meteorological pattern of intense heat that will only begin to dissipate on Tuesday. The affected districts are Beja, Castelo Branco, Évora, Faro, Lisbon, Portalegre and Setúbal, all affected by unusually high maximum temperature values for this time of year.
The yellow warning corresponds to the third level of severity on a three-tier scale used by IPMA. Over the weekend, 17 of the 18 mainland districts were under this same alert, with only Viana do Castelo being excepted. The Alentejo and Tagus Valley regions record the highest temperatures, with thermometers exceeding 38 degrees Celsius across vast stretches of the Guadiana and Sado valleys.
The Directorate-General for Health recommends special attention to the most vulnerable groups in the population, insisting on continued intake of water or natural fruit juices without sugar. Civil protection authorities advise against vigorous physical exercise in open spaces during the hours of greatest solar intensity, between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, and recommend light clothing, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses with ultraviolet filter.
Farmers and forestry operators maintain maximum restraint in the use of agricultural machinery given the ignition risk caused by extreme dryness of fine fuels. The national rural firefighting device remains on heightened operational readiness. The improvement of atmospheric conditions will occur gradually from Tuesday morning onwards, with the return of dominant west quadrant winds and climatic normality fully re-establishing itself by mid-week.
