Lisbon, Aug. 3, 2025 (Lusa) - Five regions on mainland Portugal will be under red alert between Monday and Tuesday due to hot weather, the national meteorological institute (IPMA) announced early on Sunday morning.
The regions of Bragança, Porto, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo and Braga will be under red alert between 6 a.m. on Monday and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the IPMA.
Between 9 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, these five regions are under orange alert, and until then, a yellow alert is in effect.
Also according to the IPMA, the remaining regions are under orange and yellow alerts, varying between today and Tuesday.
The red warning is the highest on the scale used by the IPMA and represents an extreme weather situation, while orange, the second most serious, is issued in a "moderate to high risk weather situation" and yellow is issued whenever there is a risk situation for certain activities dependent on the weather.
Mainland Portugal today entered a state of alert due to the high risk of fire in the coming days.
“In view of the worsening weather forecasts, which point to a significant risk of rural fires, the Government has decided to declare a state of alert throughout the mainland,” announced Interior Minister Maria Lúcia Amaral on Saturday in a statement to the country, without taking questions.
The alert came into effect at midnight and will remain in place until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, 7 August.
The four main fires raging in mainland Portugal were being fought at around 4:45 a.m. by 978 firefighters supported by 325 vehicles.
According to the website of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), at that time, there were 523 firefighters assisted by 174 land vehicles at the Ponte da Barca fire, a total of 386 firefighters and 128 vehicles at the two fires in Vila Real (Torgueda and São Cibrão), and 69 firefighters supported by 23 land vehicles at the Celorico de Basto fire, all in northern Portugal.
These are the largest fires included by Civil Protection in the list of ongoing rural fires (not yet reported as controlled/resolved) among the so-called “significant incidents” described as such due to their duration or the number of resources involved.
CAD/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
