About 60 municipalities in ten districts of mainland Portugal are at maximum rural fire danger, on a day when temperatures remain high in some regions, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). The affected districts are Vila Real, Bragança, Viseu, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Portalegre, Évora, Beja and Faro.
In the Alentejo, ten municipalities are at maximum danger: Gavião, Portalegre, Castelo de Vide, Marvão, Nisa, Moura, Mourão, Mértola, Castro Verde and Almodôvar. Additionally, more than 80 municipalities in various districts were placed at very high fire danger due to the heat.
IPMA forecasts that rural fire danger will remain very high in some regions at least until Sunday. The rural fire danger system has five levels, ranging from reduced to maximum, and the calculations are obtained from air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation amounts in the 24 hours prior.
The weather forecast for today indicates partly cloudy or clear skies, with morning cloudiness on the northern coast, strong wind on the western coastal strip and in the highlands, and a drop in maximum temperatures, more pronounced on the northern and central coast. Minimum temperatures range from 15 degrees in Viana do Castelo, Braga and Bragança to 19 degrees in Castelo Branco, Lisbon, Évora, Beja and Faro, while maximum temperatures range between 23 degrees in Aveiro and 37 degrees in Castelo Branco.
