All of mainland Portugal entered a meteorological drought in July, which was the driest July recorded this century, the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere announced on Friday.
The weather institute, known as IPMA, released summaries of its July climatological bulletins for the country. It reported a widespread worsening of drought conditions that extended to the entire mainland territory by the end of the month.
IPMA said the expanding drought was caused by persistent high temperatures and a continued lack of rain throughout July. A heatwave during the month also set new absolute record high maximum and minimum temperatures across Portugal.
Drought Expansion Across Districts
The drought spread significantly during July. At the end of June, meteorological drought conditions caused by reduced rainfall had been restricted to northern coastal districts and districts south of Coimbra.
