Spring temperatures do not bode well. Last month was the hottest May in ninety-two years in Portugal, with an average temperature of 19.19°C, an increase of 3.47°C compared to 1971-2000, Announced this week Publico. result : “97% of the Portuguese land is in a severe drought”, Headline Tuesday 14 June Daily.
Because at the same time, precipitation in May (8.9 mm) was much lower than the reference period, corresponding to only 13%, according to the Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
disturbing satellite images
Images of the Bravora Reservoir in southern Portugal, taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, five years later, show the extent of the damage caused by the drought. Tank capacity was 14.6% last month. The contrast is stark between June 14, 2017 and June 8, 2022.
At the end of May, the IPMA also observed a significant decrease in the percentage of water in the soils across the region, particularly in the northern and central regions, the Tagus Valley, the Alentejo and the Algarve, where the water content is less than 20%.
