“On September 15, there was a significant decrease in the meteorological drought situation throughout the territory, with moderate and severe drought classes predominating throughout the territory”, states the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

According to the IPMA, the extreme drought class had a “very sharp” decrease, with only the Bragança region remaining in this class.

The IPMA points out that in some places in the districts of Guarda, Viseu and Castelo Branco there was “a very significant relief from the meteorological drought”, moving from the severe drought class, on August 31, to the mild drought class, since the rainfall values ​​that occurred were much higher than the average values ​​for the month.

In the analysis, the IPMA also reports an “increase in the water content in the soil”, which is “more significant” on the North coast, throughout the Centre region and in Alto Alentejo, remaining “very low” in the Northeast.

Wet september

The IPMA advances that the value of precipitation in the first 15 days of September corresponds, to date, to the fourth wettest September since 2000, being exceeded by 2014, 2002, 2006, 2021.

“The amounts of precipitation that occurred in the first half of September occurred mainly on the 12th to 14th, with the most significant values ​​occurring in the interior of the Centre, particularly in the district of Guarda. In this district, the precipitation that occurred on the 12th to 14th of September is higher than the normal value for the month and about triple the normal precipitation of the month”, says the IPMA, indicating that the total precipitation, in the first half of September, corresponds to 123% compared to the average value between 1971-2000.

According to the IPMA, rainfall values ​​were much higher than normal in the districts of Guarda, Castelo Branco, Lisbon and in the Beja area, but, on the other hand, were lower than normal in the North interior, in the coastal strip between Porto and Aveiro, in an interior strip of Baixo Alentejo and in the eastern Algarve.