In a statement, the federation recalled that "there are deaths from drowning in every month of the year", as shown by reports from the Drowning Observatory.

FEPONS also recalled that "there is a direct relationship between the increase in temperature and the increase in deaths from drowning in Portugal", according to a study presented in 2021, at an international congress in Spain.

"All bathers should visit beaches that still have assistance" from lifeguards, argued the federation.

Maximum temperatures on the continent will be above 30 degrees Celsius this weekend, reaching 37 degrees, around 5 to 8 degrees above the average for the month of September, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

"This hot weather situation is expected to persist until the beginning of the week, until the 3rd," meteorologist Ângela Lourenço, from IPMA, told Lusa.

On August 11, FEPONS revealed that 60 people drowned in the first six months of the year. Although there was a reduction compared to the same period last year (68 deaths), the number was higher than the average of the last six years (56 deaths).

According to figures from the Drowning Observatory, none of the deaths occurred on guarded beaches.