“Along with 2017 and 2021, the month of August was the hottest ever”, having been the third warmest, in which the average global temperature was 0.3 °C higher than the average value reached between 1991 and 2020 for the most part of Europe, said the IPMA.

In the western part of the European continent, temperatures “were generally high, but not as extreme as in early summer and when compared to August 2003 and 2021”.

In mainland Portugal, August was considered “very hot and very dry”.

Rainfall, soil moisture and relative humidity levels were “far below average” in August in Europe, with “drier than average conditions” across the continent, including the Iberian Peninsula, the United Kingdom, Ireland, southern Scandinavia and Russia.

“The extreme and prolonged conditions of heat and drought affected the water level in rivers, agriculture and transport and facilitated the spread and intensification of forest fires”, concluded the IPMA.

“Very hot”

In mainland Portugal, August was “very hot in relation to the air temperature”, with averages of 23.30 °C, 1.15 °C higher than the normal value, and maximum of 30.50 °C, also higher than normal at 1.79 °C and minimums of 16.10 °C, 0.60 °C above normal.

During the month, the air temperature values ​​were almost always above the monthly average value, except in the periods from 14 to 17 and 29 to 31, with the hottest periods occurring on days 01 and 02 and from 19 to 23, with deviations from maximum temperature above 4°C and minimum temperature above 2.0°C

In August, there were two heat waves, the first between July 29 and August 14, with greater incidence in the North and Center regions, and the second between August 20 and 29, in the northeast region.

As for precipitation, August was the fourth driest since 2000, with 2.7 millimetres, corresponding to about 20% of the normal value.

On August 31, the entire territory was in a situation of severe (60.4%) or extreme (39.6%) drought.