On the last day of February, the Algarve and a large area of the lower Alentejo (14.2% of the territory in total) experienced a weak and moderate meteorological drought, with the majority of the territory (43.7%) in a normal situation.

According to the bulletin from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the percentage of water in the soil increased significantly in the southern region during the month of March.

The month's total rainfall was 177.8 millimeters (equivalent to 177.8 liters per square meter), almost three times the average value of the reference period (1981-2010), being the 16th wettest March since 1931 and the 4th since 2000.

The IPMA highlights the passage of the Nelson depression, at the end of the month, which caused flooding in some parts of the territory, especially in the Lisbon metropolitan area.

March was considered normal in relation to air temperature, which had an average value of 12.43 °C, very close to the normal value, in the reference period 1981-2010.

The bulletin highlights the occurrence of some variability in air temperature values, on the one hand, the low values at the beginning of the month (01 to 09) and the high values, between the 15th and 24th of March, with emphasis on the 22nd and 23rd. which had maximum and minimum temperatures much higher than the monthly average value, causing a heat wave in some places in the North and Center interior.

The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has warned that, even though the rains recorded at the end of February increased dam reserves to 44% of their total storage capacity, the Algarve remains in extreme hydrological drought.