Portugal braces for high temperatures in new heatwave

Parts of Portugal have been placed on red alert due to high temperatures forecast for the coming days, after being relatively spared from the recent heatwave in Europe.

The country's IPMA weather agency said the Lisbon and Setubal regions on the coast will be on red alert for high temperatures on Thursday.

That will be extended on Friday to the Leiria and Coimbra areas further north, where temperatures could hit 44C in places.


An orange alert was imposed on Wednesday for four inland regions, including Evora, where 41C could be reached, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said.

The second-highest warning will be extended to all regions not on red alert, it added.

"During this period of very hot weather, the most notable element is its duration, which should be for at least a week," the IPMA said in a statement Tuesday night.

Coastal regions will be hotter due to a lack of sea breeze, while nighttime temperatures may not fall below 24-28C for several nights, it added.

The recent heatwave was the most severe ever recorded in Europe, and would have been "virtually impossible" in June without climate change, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists said.

All-time temperature records have been broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as for the month of June in the UK and in Switzerland.

France faced record-breaking average temperatures, with the country experiencing its highest-ever nighttime temperatures.