Portugal faces severe drought after hottest May since 1931

• Portugal saw its hottest May since 1931, with severe drought impacting the majority of the country.
• The top daily temperature averaged 25.87 degrees Celsius (78.57 degrees Fahrenheit).
• It was “the highest since 1931” Portugal will see a “dramatic spike in temperatures” beginning Friday.

LISBON – Portugal saw its hottest May since 1931, with severe drought impacting the majority of the country, according to the national meteorological agency.

In its latest monthly climate advisory, the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA) stated, “It was the hottest May in 92 years.”

The top daily temperature averaged 25.87 degrees Celsius (78.57 degrees Fahrenheit), which was “the highest since 1931,” according to the report.
Rainfall in May was “far below normal,” accounting for only 13% of the average for May between 1971 and 2000.

As a result, the IPMA reported a “very large spread of severe drought” affecting 97 percent of the country.

1.4 percent of the country was experiencing “severe drought” by the end of May.

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Repeated droughts, according to scientists, are an indication of climate change.

In the future, they are predicted to become more more frequent, longer, and more intense.

“This rainfall deficit that we are seeing is consistent with the pattern of the last 20 years, which has been characterised by more frequent dry seasons as a result of climate change,” Vanda Pires, an IPMA scientist, told AFP.

She noted that Portugal’s summer looks “worrying” after a winter that was already the fourth hottest and fifth driest since 1931.

According to Pires, the country will witness “a dramatic spike in temperatures” beginning Friday, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.

On Thursday, the civil protection officials issued a warning about a “increased risk of fires” and dispatched 5,000 personnel to the area.

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