Portugal hits 47 degrees

New record for July on the mainland

On Thursday of this week, the maximum temperature reached a new extreme of 47 degrees for the month of July in mainland Portugal.

At the Pinhaõ weather station, inland from Porto in northern Portugal, 47°C was measured, a new record. The districts of Santarem and Leiria (near Lisbon) reached 45 degrees on Thursday. A wind also continues to blow, as a result of which it is still proving difficult to fight forest fires raging in different places. At least one person has been killed and 130 injured.

Half of the country’s population is currently living in “code red” because of the extreme heat which is forecast to last for a while.

Reuters reports that the World Meteorological Organization has said the heatwave would worsen air quality, especially in towns and cities across Europe. “The stable and stagnant atmosphere acts as a lid to trap atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter,” Lorenzo Labrador, WMO scientific officer, told a Geneva press briefing. “These result in a degradation of air quality and adverse health effects, particularly for vulnerable people.”

Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido said on Thursday the health system faced a “particularly worrying” week due to the heatwave and said some hospitals were overwhelmed. From July 7 to July 13, Portugal registered 238 excess deaths due to the heatwave, the country’s DGS health authority said.

Thanks to PeterA for the link

COVID-19 in Madeira: updates can be found in an earlier post

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