Extreme drought spreads to 28% of mainland by end-June
Extreme drought encompassed 28.4% of the mainland, with the remaining territory in severe (67.9%) and moderate drought (3.7%), according to the national meteorological institute, IPMA
More than one quarter of mainland Portugal was in extreme drought at the end of June, with an increase in particular in the south of the country and some parts of the interior of the North and Centre regions, according to the national meteorological institute, IPMA.
Extreme drought encompassed 28.4% of the mainland, with the remaining territory in severe (67.9%) and moderate drought (3.7%), according to the institute’s latest climatological bulletin.
On the last day of May, just 1.4% had been in extreme drought, 97.1% in severe drought, and 1.5% in moderate drought,
In a comparison with other drought years, the bulletin shows, at the end of June 2012 and June 2005 in mainland Portugal 56% and 64% of the territory respectively was in extreme drought.
The institute’s meteorological drought index has nine classes, ranging from “extreme rainfall” to “extreme drought”.
In addition to the drought index, the IPMA bulletin shows that this June was hot and dry, with average values of the average, maximum and minimum temperatures higher than normal and the average value of rainfall in June 22.1 millimetres less than the normal value for the period 1971-2000, at 69% of that level.
At the end of June the percentage of water in the soil remained very low throughout the mainland and especially in the interior North and Centre region, in the Tagus Valley, Alentejo and Algarve.
The bulletin highlights the districts of Bragança, Guarda, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Setúbal, Beja and Faro, where values are below 10% and “in many places equal to the point of permanent wilting” for vegetation.
