Weather forecasting predicts worsening drought, overwhelmingly in eastern Algarve
The month of February was considered the warmest in the last 93 years on mainland Portugal, according to the climatological bulletin from national meteorological institute IPMA, which indicates a worsening drought in the eastern Algarve.
According to climatological bulletin available on the institute’s website today, February is classified as extremely warm in terms of air temperature and rainy in terms of precipitation.
It was the warmest February since 1931, with an average air temperature of 12.47 °C, 2.55 °C higher than normal.
The average maximum air temperature was the 3rd highest since 1931 and the average minimum temperature was the 5th highest since 1931 and the 2nd highest since 2000.
At the beginning of March, the Copernicus Climate Change Service declared February to have been the warmest globally since records began.
The global average surface air temperature in February was 13.54°C, according to the organisation based in Bonn, Germany.
Indeed, every month since June 2023 has broken historical monthly temperature records.
IPMA’s weather bulletin also states that in February, there was an increase in the percentage of water in the soil, especially in the North and Centre.
On the last day of February, 14% of the territory was in meteorological drought, 14% in weak drought and 0.2% in moderate drought. The usual rainfall class was 43.7 %, while 32% had light rainfall and 10.1% had moderate rainfall.
The institute categorises the meteorological drought index into nine classes, ranging from “extreme rain” to “extreme drought”.
According to IPMA, there are four types of drought: meteorological, agricultural, hydrological and socio-economic.
And while February saw more rain, and many regions benefitted, the truth is the south of the country is still a long way from comfortable: water saving measures are in place; water saving campaigns underway and most people with lush gardens are looking at how to let them dry out as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
In Geneva yesterday, a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) showed that records were once again broken, and in some cases smashed, for greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice cover and glacier retreat.
“Sirens are blaring across all major indicators… Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting. And changes are speeding-up.” warned United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
“Never have we been so close – albeit on a temporary basis at the moment – to the 1.5° C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change.” said WMO’s Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “The WMO community is sounding the Red Alert to the world” – and in the meantime, it predicts 2024 will also be an extremely hot year.
Portuguese forecasts for tomorrow, for example, point to temperatures in some areas potentially reaching 30ºC. Considering clocks haven’t even changed for ‘summer time’, this is way beyond anything normally expected for this time of year.
Source material: LUSA/ WMO
