Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 12th July 2022
Good morning and welcome to another Algarve situation report. Obviously the weather and the continued danger of fires is forefront to this report and with temperatures already reaching the high 30’s in the past week coupled with some very high winds it is imperative we all are aware of the dangers that are associated with these issues.
Nine Algarve municipalities in maximum fire danger.
The Algarve municipalities of Alcoutim , Tavira, São Brás de Alportel, Loulé, Silves, Portimão, Monchique, Lagos and Aljezur are currently (11 July 2022) at maximum risk of fire, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).
Mainland Portugal today entered a contingency situation due to weather forecasts for the next few days, with more than 80 municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Vila Real, Braga, Viseu, Guarda, Coimbra, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Beja and Faro.
The IPMA also placed several municipalities in all districts of mainland Portugal at very high and high risk of rural fire.
In the Algarve, in very high danger are the municipalities of Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa and Vila do Bispo, while in the high danger level are Albufeira, Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António.
Due to weather forecasts for the next few days, which point to an aggravation of the risk of rural fires, mainland Portugal entered a contingency situation today at midnight.
The declaration of the contingency situation should end at 23:59 on Friday, but, as the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) has already indicated, it may “be extended if necessary” and “no excludes the adoption of other measures that may result from the permanent monitoring of the situation”.
3.2 earthquake on the Richter scale recorded south of the county
An earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale was recorded on the morning of the 10th July 2022 55 kilometres from Olhão , according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere ( IPMA ).
“At 04:03 (local time), an earthquake of magnitude 3.2 (Richter) was registered at the stations of the Mainland Seismic Network, whose epicentre was located about 55 kilometres south-southeast of Olhão”, reads the statement. of the IPMA.
“No information has been received confirming that this earthquake was felt.”
According to the Richter scale, earthquakes are classified according to their magnitude as micro (less than 2.0), very small (2.0-2.9), small (3.0-3.9), slight (4.0-4.9), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), large (7.0-7.9), important (8.0-8 .9), exceptional (9.0-9.9) and extreme (when greater than 10).
Two men carrying a ton of hashish arrested
In the continuing fight in the Algarve against the drug dealers, the GNR detained two men in Ria Formosa, near Tavira , in an operation in which they seized more than a ton of hashish, the military said in a statement.
According to the Republican Guard, the Coastal Control Unit (UCC), located in Vila Real de Santo António, during the early hours of today, seized 1,023 kilograms of hashish during an operation in Cabanas de Tavira.
The GNR started by detecting a pleasure boat that was making “suspicious movements in its navigation”, having entered Barra da Tavira. Then, inside the Ria Formosa, a small auxiliary pneumatic vessel loaded nine bales of hashish from this pleasure craft, with the intention of discharging the narcotic product along the shore.
“The GNR military moved to the place of the presumed landing, having managed to intercept the narcotic product and detain two individuals in flagrante delicto, aged 36 and 39 years, respectively”, according to the statement.
At the same time, a GNR vessel intercepted the suspicious pleasure craft, which had no crew on board, but contained the remaining “22 bales of hashish”, which were also seized. “The Operation resulted in the seizure of 1023 kilograms of hashish, two vessels and the arrest of two suspects in the act”, summarises the GNR.
The two detainees will be presented in court and the file will be sent to the Judiciary Police (PJ) who will continue to investigate the case.
Council gave more than 1200 temporary protections to Ukrainians
Albufeira has so far granted 1,206 temporary protections to people who fled the war in Ukraine , while at the national level there are almost 47,000, 28% of which are granted to minors, announced the Foreigners and Borders Service ( SEF ).
According to the latest update made by the SEF, 46,850 temporary protections were granted to Ukrainian citizens and foreigners residing in that country, 28,563 were granted to women and 18,287 to men.
The municipalities with the highest number of temporary protections granted continue to be Lisbon (9,518), followed by Cascais (2,762), Porto (2,084), Sintra (1,589) and Albufeira (1,206).
The SEF also indicates that it issued 40,539 certificates granting residence permits under the temporary protection regime.
This certificate, issued after the National Health Service, Social Security and Tax Authority have assigned the respective numbers, is necessary for refugees to start working and access support. During the process of allocating these numbers, citizens can consult the numbers that, in the meantime, are being allocated, in their reserved area of the digital platform https://sefforukraine.sef.pt.
The SEF also advances that requests for temporary protection were authorised for 13,130 minors, representing about 28% of the total, and the situation of 723 Ukrainian minors who arrived in Portugal without their parents or legal representatives, cases where there is considered to be no “current or imminent danger”.
In these situations, in which in most cases the children arrive in Portugal with a family member, the case is communicated to the MP for the appointment of a legal representative and eventual promotion of a process for the protection of the minor.
The SEF also communicated to the Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People the situation of 15 minors who arrived in Portugal unaccompanied, but with someone other than their parents or a proven legal representative, representing these cases “current or imminent danger”.
The request for temporary protection to Portugal can be made through the ‘online’ platform created by the SEF, available in three languages, it is not necessary for adults to use the counters of this security service.
However, in the case of minors, it is mandatory to go to a Foreigners and Borders Service desk in order to confirm their identity and affiliation.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine, which has already killed more than 4,300 civilians and forced more than 7.2 million people to flee abroad, according to UN data, which stresses that the real numbers can be much superior.
Algarve capital is one of the least polluted cities in Europe
To end this report on a good note we are delighted to share the news that The cities with the best air quality in Europe in the 2020s and 2021s were the Portuguese cities of Faro and Funchal and Umeå, in Sweden, according to a document released by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
According to the updated air quality barometer in European cities, which includes more than 340 cities, Umeå is the cleanest city in Europe in terms of air quality, followed by Faro and then Funchal. With air considered good are eight more European cities, followed by Lisbon, in position 82, with an air quality considered reasonable.
In the last three positions, as the most polluted, are Padova and Cremona, in Italy, and Nowy Sacz, in Poland.
According to the EEA, the classifications were obtained based on the average levels of fine particles (PM2.5) obtained in more than 400 monitoring stations in the last two years. The barometer focuses on PM2.5 as exposure to this air pollution causes the most serious health effects and has the greatest impact in terms of premature death and illness.
From the data analysis, the AEA concludes that air quality was considered good in only 11 cities, with PM2.5 levels below the values established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for long-term exposure to fine particles: five micrograms per cubic metre of air. These values were exceeded in 97% of the 343 European cities included in the barometer.
Taking into account the European Union’s annual limit value for fine particles of 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air, the limit value was only exceeded in the three most polluted cities, which shows the great difference between the WHO guideline and the norm of the European Union.
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