The meteorological drought situation presented on March 15th an aggravation compared to the situation registered at the end of February, now with more than half of the continental territory in a situation of extreme drought (53%) and the remaining portion (47%) in severe drought, the two highest levels of severity of this climatic episode.
According to the Institute of Meteorology's Drought Observatory, the percentage of water in the soil, which measures the capacity of water usable by plants, reveals a situation of scarcity with values below 50% throughout the territory, with even places in the southern region where it is less than 40%.
This situation is due to the absence of significant rainfall in practically the entire territory during the first half of March, a period in which an average of 5,7 mm was recorded.
For the end of March, taking into account the long-term forecast available for precipitation that points to values below normal for the period in this fortnight, the Meteorology Institute admits as more likely a scenario of no reduction in the severity of the drought weather.
The IM Drought Observatory will update this information at the end of March.
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