On Thursday, Portugal recorded a record maximum April temperature for at least 78 years, at 36.9 degrees Celsius, according to data released on Friday by the National Meteorological Institute.
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In addition to the Mora weather station, located in the center of the country, five other regions in the center or in the south have surpassed the “previous record of 36 degrees” on April 20, 1945 in Pinau (northeast), given to AFP Ricardo Deus, a climatologist from the Portuguese Institute For the Seas and Atmospheres (IPMA).
Portugal and neighboring Spain are experiencing an exceptionally early heatwave this week, caused by a mass of hot, dry air coming in from North Africa.
Mainland Spain also recorded an absolute record temperature for the month of April on Thursday at 38.8°C in Cordoba (south), according to provisional data published by the Spanish Meteorological Agency.
According to scientists, recurrent heat waves are an unmistakable sign of global warming and these heat waves are expected to multiply, lengthen and intensify.
According to the Portuguese Meteorological Institute, 10.2% of the continental territory was already affected by a “severe” drought at the end of March.
