Lisbon, Aug 2 (IANS) Mainland Portugal will enter a state of alert from Sunday due to a severe heatwave and heightened wildfire risk, with temperatures expected to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius.

Interior Minister Maria Lucia Amaral announced the alert Saturday, warning of difficult days ahead. Firefighting forces and security services will be reinforced, with bans on activities that could spark fires, including burning, machinery use, and fireworks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Until next Wednesday, Portugal is expected to experience a “considerably severe heatwave,” with maximum temperatures ranging from 36 to 40 degrees Celsius across most of the country,

A hot air mass from North Africa is driving temperatures higher, with some regions potentially reaching 45 degrees Celsius and “tropical nights” with lows above 20 degrees Celsius are forecast across the country.

A total of 39 wildfires are currently active across Portugal, including nine major blazes stretching from the north to the south of the country, the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) reported on July 30.

The most critical situations have been identified in Penamacor, Arouca, Santarem, and Ponte da Barca, where nearby populations are considered at risk.

Commander Elisio Pereira of the ANEPC told Lusa news agency that protecting communities remains a top priority, saying that the presence of threatened populations “requires a dispersion of resources to prevent fires from reaching homes, which in turn makes firefighting efforts more difficult.”

Despite the growing scale of the emergency, ANEPC said it does not anticipate reinforcing ground teams overnight, noting that additional personnel and equipment have already been deployed to the affected zones. As of the latest update, 2,731 operatives and 881 land vehicles were actively engaged in battling the nine largest fires. Twenty people have received medical attention, including 14 firefighters.

–IANS

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