Vanda Pires, from the Department of Climate and Climate Change of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), told Lusa that the north of the country “was in the weak class at the end of December and at the moment, the entire region is in the moderate drought class”, adding that “in the Bragança area there are already some places that are already starting to experience severe drought”.

Drought is classed by the IPMA as being mild, moderate, sever or extreme on their scale.

The expert said that “for now, unfortunately, there is no forecast of precipitation, at least until mid-February”.

Vanda Pires detailed that “there is a probability [of rain] on the 3rd and 4th [Thursday and Friday], but they are lower than normal and, even until the end of February, the forecasts do not point to significant values of precipitation”.

If it does not rain this month, “we are in a very complicated situation”, she advanced, realising that, “the North region, which is now in a situation of moderate drought, if there is not enough precipitation, it will naturally worsen to the class of severe drought, which is one of the most serious, and this will have impacts on the agricultural and hydrological sector as well”.

In addition to these impacts, there is a greater risk of forest fires, "because, in addition to having a drought situation, we are having temperatures a little above normal for this time of year, which helps to dry the bush".