Portugal, hit by an exceptional drought throughout its territory, experienced the month of “the hottest July in the last 92 years,” the national meteorological institute announced this Friday in its monthly climate bulletin.
The average value of the maximum temperature was 31.16 degrees, reported the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), adding that during that period the thermometer reached a historical record of 47 degrees for the month of July. This temperature was recorded on July 14 at the Pinhao meteorological station, in the north of the country.
Drought hits the country
As for rainfall, the month of July was “the fourth driest month since 2000”, corresponding to the amount of rain that fell “barely 22% of the average”, indicates the institute.
The drought has also worsened. At the end of July, 55% of the territory was classified as “severe drought” and 45% as extreme drought.
In July, the heat wave that hit Portugal and other European countries caused devastating forest fires. According to scientists, repeated heat waves are an unequivocal marker of global warming due to human activities and these heat waves are expected to multiply, prolong and intensify.
Portugal had experienced an early drought this year, with a winter that was the fourth hottest and fifth driest since 1931.
Source: BFM TV
