The Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has placed 12 of mainland Portugal's 18 districts under red warning (the most severe level on the scale, which alerts to a "meteorological situation of extreme risk"), from Thursday and at least until Saturday, due to the forecast hot weather, with a "persistent spell of extremely high temperatures, both daytime highs and overnight lows".
The red warning for heat will be extended from this Thursday to Beja, Évora, Portalegre and Santarém, in addition to Lisbon and Setúbal, and on Friday to Aveiro, Braga, Porto and Viana do Castelo, as well as Coimbra and Leiria.
The remaining six mainland districts, namely Bragança, Castelo Branco, Faro, Guarda, Vila Real and Viseu, will be under orange warning (the second highest level on the scale, which alerts to a "meteorological situation of moderate to high risk") between Thursday and Saturday, according to IPMA.
The previous weather forecasts, issued on Wednesday, had placed only the districts of Lisbon and Setúbal under red warning for heat from Thursday, extending to Coimbra and Leiria on Friday.
In a statement, IPMA says a "prolonged period of very hot, dry weather" is expected, with maximum temperatures reaching between 35 and 41 °C across most of the country, and between 41 and 44 °C in the Tagus valley and Alentejo.
