Some metro stations will be open in both cities and hot blankets and drinks will be distributed on the street.

The Câmara de Porto assesses on Monday the possibility of immediately triggering the contingency plan for the homeless due to the cold. Among possible measures are the provision of hot drinks and the opening of metro stations at night.

In Lisbon, the Câmara de Lisboa’s contingency plan to protect the homeless from the cold will be activated on Monday at 1900 hrs, also foreseeing the opening of support sites and the distribution of food and clothing, the municipality of Lisbon announced on Sunday.

In response to Lusa, the communication office of the Municipality of Porto guarantees that “Civil Protection, fire brigades and Social Action will be in permanent evaluation of the conditions and will take action as soon as possible, the contingency plan for the homeless”.

The plan will be activated tomorrow [Monday], but it will be reassessed in the morning,” he added. In the event of extreme cold, “the former Joaquim Urbano Hospital, currently operating as a reception center, is prepared to receive the homeless, provide primary health care and provide food and hot drinks.”

In Porto, the forecasts of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) available on the site point to low temperatures during the next week, with a minimum temperature of 2ºC on Monday, 1ºC on Tuesday and 0ºC on Thursday. The maximum temperature should not exceed 12ºC throughout the week.

Starting at 7:00 pm on Monday, the Câmara de Lisboa will open the Manuel Castelbranco Municipal Pavilion, in the Sapadores zone, a parish of São Vicente, providing hygiene, food and clothing for the homeless. In recent years, this structure of the contingency plan used to be set up in the Casal Vistoso Municipal Pavilion.

In addition to this support, the city’s street teams will distribute hot food and warm clothing to street sleepers. Also some stations of the Lisbon Metro will be open during the night to welcome this population, but will only be announced on Monday, when the municipality disclose “the logistical measures inherent to the plan,” said the same autarchic source.

According to the IPMA forecasts available on its website, the minimum temperatures will be around 5ºC on Monday, dropping to 4º C on Tuesday and 3º C on Wednesday and Thursday for Lisbon. Source Publico.