Country-wide drought “significantly less” after recent rains

In the first 15 days of September, there was a “significant easing” of the drought situation throughout the country, particularly in the districts of Guarda, Viseu and Castelo Branco, announced the national meteorological institute, IPMA, today (Friday).

“On September 15, there was a significant decrease in the meteorological drought situation throughout the country, with the categories of moderate and severe drought predominating throughout the country,” said IPMA in a weather analysis of the first half of September.

According to IPMA, the classification of extreme drought had a “very sharp” decrease, with only the region of Bragança remaining in that category.

IPMA points out that in some areas in the districts of Guarda, Viseu and Castelo Branco there was “a very significant relief of meteorological drought”, moving from the category of ‘severe drought’ on August 31 to the category of ‘weak drought’, because the amount of rain that fell was much higher than the average for the month.

In the analysis, IPMA also reports an “increase in the soil water index”, which is “more significant” on the North coast, throughout the Centre region and in the Upper Alentejo, while remaining “very low” in the Northeast.

IPMA says the amount of rainfall in the first 15 days of September corresponds, to date, to the fourth rainiest September since 2000, being surpassed by 2014, 2002, 2006, 2021.

“The amounts of precipitation in the first half of September occurred mainly between the 12th and 14th, with the most significant amounts in the central interior, particularly in the district of Guarda. In this district, rainfall was about three times higher than normal for the month,” says IPMA, indicating that the total rainfall in the first half of September corresponds to 123% compared to the average between 1971-2000.

According to IPMA, rainfall amounts were much higher than normal in the districts of Guarda, Castelo Branco, Lisbon and the Beja area, but, on the other hand, were below normal in the northern interior, the coastal strip between Porto and Aveiro, an inland strip of the Lower Alentejo and the eastern Algarve.

LUSA