There is a heatwave sweeping across Europe this week, and while Portugal is not the worst hit country, it is still hot hot hot! You may have read that Italy, Spain and Greece have had red alerts, and it is expected that several heat records will be broken. Portugal is always hot in the summer, but this year it feels like it has been hot for longer than normal. We already saw the temperature reaching 40 back in June, so goodness knows what the rest of July and August have in store for us!
We have also had a so-called 'heat dome' this Summer – what is that I hear you ask? It occurred when high pressure stagnated over Europe, preventing the usual pattern of low pressure systems moving into Europe from the Atlantic. That is known as a 'blocking high', and when warm air is trapped under that, it acts like a lid, raising temperatures as a result.
Experts believe Portugal's climate is moving towards being more like North Africa rather than Southern Europe, and we can definitely agree that things have changed. Globally, intense heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense, so escaping to the beach is the best thing to do….remembering your parasol of course!
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