Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 11th October 2023
Good morning – Well the hot weather and heatwave continues. However, it is not just the mainland but Madeira as well.
The record temperature in October in Madeira has been broken twice within four days, as a result of the persistence of very high maximum temperatures. On October 5th a new record in October had been recorded in Madeira, 34.7°C in Funchal/Meteorological Observatory, but it is now surpassed throughout the Region, where for the first time in the month of October a temperature of 36.4ºC was recorded, the new absolute record for this month in Madeira.
The Archipelago islands maintain Orange Warning until October 13 at 00h00. Since midnight of October 4th that the south coast has been under orange warning for hot weather, a very unusual situation.
There have also been several rural fires in Madeira the latest being on the slopes of the parish of Arco da Calheta, adjacent to Paul da Serra. The ICNF has informed that “the use of all the walking routes in the Rabaçal area are prohibited. Anyone travelling to Madeira or in Madeira should follow the warning and take care. The temperatures are very high and with the steep hills, in the centre part of the island fires can be very difficult to suppress resources on the ground.
It is difficult to determine what will be the final outcome of Hamas attack on Israel. Should it develop into a larger regional escalation involving other neighbouring countries, is a frightening thought, with the potential for a far greater loss of life to what we have already seen in the last few days, not to mention the displacement of hundreds and thousands of civilians. Coming on the back of the Ukraine/ Russia war and recent major disasters such as recent earthquakes in the far east and extensive flooding, which have already cost the lives of tens of thousands of people, this latest disaster is something the world does not need.
Portugal has acted swiftly in trying to protect its citizens in Israel by arranging flights and it is understood that nearly 200 Portuguese have expressed the wish to be removed using the special flights arranged by the Portuguese government. There will be other countries also making similar arrangements. At least 15 airlines have suspended or cancelled flights to Israel including TAP. It goes without saying that anyone planning holidays in the region, should very carefully check the situation which could change suddenly, should the situation escalate.
Returning to the weather! This week started without major changes, with unusually high temperatures from north to south of mainland Portugal. However, a change in the weather is expected within a few days, which will result in a situation more in line with the time of year. Here’s the forecast! Very unusual for an October and the middle of a climatological autumn, taking into account that this very hot and stable environment is more typical of the summer season than the one we are in now.
On Friday 13th, possibly from the second half of the day, not only is a thermal drop expected, which will be very noticeable, but also denser, low-altitude cloud cover. The winds will blow predominantly from the West and Southwest (stronger in areas where rain is expected) and the perception of an Atlantic front approaching will be increasingly noticeable. This system is expected to dump locally persistent rain of low to moderate intensity in the Minho region, occasionally heavy.
As the hours go by, probably for a good part of the day on Saturday 14th, the precipitation will spread to more regions, such as the Porto Metropolitan Area, Aveiro Region , districts of Vila Real and Viseu, Northeast Trás-os-Montes , Coimbra, Guarda and in parts of the districts of Leiria, Lisbon and Santarém. Whether or not this will reach the south of the country remains to be seen, but do not hold your breath. Even if it does so, we need plenty of rain to saturate the soil to have any impact on the drought situation.
The amount of water stored in river basins is showing a steep decline in some areas and is well below historic averages in the south of the country. It is more important than ever to conserve water at this time. We all have a part to play. Safe Communities has a feature on this topic this Thursday 12th October in the Portugal Resident.
Have a good week ahead,
News
More than 17 thousand drivers caught speeding in seven days
Lisbon, 10 Oct 2023 (Lusa) – More than 17 thousand drivers were caught speeding during the seven days of the “Travel without rush” campaign and around 80% were fined through the National Road Safety Authority’s radars, it was released today.
The data is part of the “Travel without rush” campaign run by the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), National Republican Guard and Public Security Police, which took place between October 3rd and 9th, with the aim of alerting drivers to risks of driving at excessive speed, as it is one of the main causes of accidents on the roads.
In a joint statement, those three entities indicate that 4.1 million vehicles were monitored using radar speed control, 94.8% of which by the National Speed Control System (SINCRO), under the responsibility of the National Road Safety Authority.
Of the 4.1 million vehicles inspected, 17.4 thousand were traveling at excessive speed, and of these 3.3 thousand were detected by the security forces’ radars and 14.1 thousand by ANSR’s SINCRO.
The PSP, GNR and ANSR also report that, during this campaign, 2,386 accidents were recorded, resulting in 10 fatalities, 50 serious injuries and 733 minor injuries.
This campaign is part of the 2023 National Inspection Plan and has been carried out annually by ANSR, GNR and PSP since 2020, with themes defined based on European recommendations established for each year.