Portugal Set For High Temperatures This Weekend With Possible 37ºC On The Algarve

A significant rise in temperatures is predicted to occur in Portugal over the next few days.

This latest episode of unusually warm weather is expected to start on Friday, September 29, and continue until at least Tuesday, October 3, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

Maximum temperatures across the country could will be above 30ºC from tomorrow, even hitting 37ºC in some regions, values that are above the average for the time of year, explained the experts.

A rise in relative humidty is also expected

According to the IPMA meteorologist Ângela Lourenço, this generalised rise in temperature will probably be accompanied by a decrease in relative humidity. As a result, there is the danger of rural fires , especially in the interior regions of the Algarve, she warned.

From Friday onwards, the weather will be influenced by an: ‘intense anticyclonic ridge located over Western Europe, associated with the transport of a mass of hot and dry air, originating in North Africa’, the IPMA pointed out.

‘So far, maximum values ​​above the average close to or above 30ºC have been recorded in some regions of the country”, Lourenço explained, as reported by sicnoticias.pt.

‘Above normal values ​​for September’

However, Ângela Lourenço highlighted that from Friday and Saturday there will be a significant increase, which will result in maximum temperatures. These will occur prticularly in the southern region and the Tagus Valley, and are predicted to reach reach values ​​between 35 and 37ºC.

‘These values ​​are above normal ​​for the month of September. Although absolute maximum temperatures comparable to episodes occurring during the hottest months are not expected, the predicted values ​​correspond to anomalies of up to approximately 5 to 8 degrees above the usual average values ​​for this time of year’, she added.

The Algarve could experience ‘tropical nights’

Minimum temperatures will register an increase, with night time values ​​equal to or greater than 20ºC possible. The IPMA characterises these as being tropical nights in some places, especially on the coast of the Algarve region.

‘This hot weather situation is expected to persist until the beginning of the week, until the 3rd. From then on, there is some uncertainty as to whether this persistence of high temperatures will continue or not’, continued Ângela Lourenço.

She added: ‘In any case, even if there is a drop in temperature, the values will remain above average for the time of year’.

According to the weather expert, if the scenario of the influence of the anticyclonic crest persists and the episode of hot weather continues for more days, especially in the South region, a heat wave could occur.