With predictions last week of a respite from stultifying temperatures very premature, IPMA meteorological institute has warned that the weather is actually so hot and dry that there is an increased risk of forest/ rural fires, which is building. The danger of wildfires “will gradually increase until Saturday, as maximum temperatures could reach 38ºC in places like Santarém”, says the service. Various boroughs in the Algarve (Monchique, Portimão, Silves, Loule, Tavira and São Brás de Alportel) are already at ‘maximum danger’ for rural fires.