From Wednesday onwards it is expected temperatures are set to soar with thermometers reaching​​above 30°C in most of the country, with temperatures up to 40 degrees "in the interior regions and valleys of the Tejo and Sado, with occasional higher values ​​not being excluded", indicates the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).

Tropical nights

Minimum temperatures are also expected to rise, with "tropical nights (minimums above 20°C) expected in some regions".

The increase in temperatures, from the middle of this week, is due to the "circulation of an anticyclone located to the northeast of the Azores", which "will transport a mass of hot and dry air over the country".

"The trend points to a persistence of high temperature values ​​in the following days, so it is likely that hot weather warnings will be issued", the IPMA also mentions.

In view of these meteorological conditions, associated with "low values ​​of relative air humidity", the IPMA warns of a "significant increase in the danger of rural fires".