Drought improves in Portugal but in 77% of the country it is severe or extreme

Lisbon, 17 Mar The drought improved in Portugal, especially on the coast of the North and Central regions of the country, but 77% of the territory is still in a severe or extreme situation, according to the latest report by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). The document, published today with data up to March 15, reflects an improvement over the previous report, which monitored the situation as of February 15 and indicated that 91% of the country was in severe or extreme drought. Currently 50.4% of the Portuguese territory is in severe drought and 26.8% in extreme conditions, according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). In the interior and southern regions of the country - Algarve and Alentejo - “there were no very significant variations,” explained the IPMA. The average rainfall in the hydrological year 2021/2022, from October 1, 2021 to March 15, 2022, was 277.6 millimeters, 44% of the value considered normal and the driest exercise since 1931. The forecasts suggest that until the end of March the temperature will remain above average and precipitation is expected from the 20th, mainly “in a downpour” and “for a few days”. Drought is wreaking havoc in Portugal, where the Government has implemented several measures to mitigate the effects, such as a credit line for farmers, restrictions on energy production or irrigation in various reservoirs and limits on urban uses.