“It is a very likely scenario because the models have been pointing to this scenario for some days now, (…) and they have been converging, is that from the 20th, Saturday, there will be a rise in temperature that will be more significant and is likely to last for part of next week at least. There is still quite a bit of time left,” the meteorologist from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) told Lusa.

Possible weather warning

If the scenario is confirmed, according to Maria João Frada, the IPMA is very likely to issue a hot weather warning in some districts over the weekend, which may be gradually extended to all of mainland Portugal, starting on Monday for everyone.

“In any case, there is still some time to go, but it is a scenario that seems to have quite a lot of consistency. (…) We are already talking about values ​​that are roughly around 35 to 40 degrees at the beginning of next week, [but] the 40 degrees are more confined to the inland regions, the interior part of the Douro Valley, the Tagus Valley, the interior of Alentejo,” she said, adding that on the western coastal strip the temperature could reach 35 degrees.

According to the meteorologist, in some places, values ​​above 40 degrees may be observed.

Tropical nights

Regarding minimum temperatures, Maria João Frada indicated that they will rise in much of the territory with tropical nights of around 20 degrees, in a scenario yet to be confirmed.

“In any case, the hot weather scenario seems to be very likely. There is still some uncertainty in temperatures north of Cabo Raso. In principle, they could be values ​​below 35, but it will be more in the coastal strip of the north and central coast,” she said.

According to Maria João Frada, temperatures are above average, but common for this time of year.

This situation is due to "the transport of an air mass coming from North Africa/interior of the Iberian Peninsula, carried in the circulation of a depression that extends from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula," she said.

Maria João Frada also said that on Sunday, the day summer begins, temperatures between 31 and 35/36 degrees Celsius are expected in most of the territory, but in some inland locations in the Douro Valley, the Tagus Valley and the most inland part of the Alentejo, they may reach 40 degrees.

According to IPMA, the hot weather will aggravate the risk of rural fires at least until the middle of next week.