February 2020 was the hottest since 1931, and the 5th driest since that same year, announced today by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere.
This is because, underlines the IPMA, last month, in mainland Portugal, it was classified as “extremely hot and extremely dry”.
Thus, according to data from that organism, the mean value of the mean air temperature, 12.43 °C, was much higher than normal, with an anomaly of +2.45°C (Figure 2).
The mean maximum air temperature, 17.89 °C, was the highest value since 1931, with an anomaly of +3.51 °C.
The average minimum air temperature, 6.96 °C, was also higher than normal (+1.39 °C), being the 10th highest value since 1931 and the 2nd highest since 2000 (highest in 2008).
The IPMA highlights that, in February, the daily maximum temperature was «always above the monthly average value», with the periods 2 to 3 and 21 to 24 being highlighted, with daily average values above 20°C.
Also, the daily average temperature was always above the monthly average value, except for the 18th, as well as the daily minimum temperature, in the first 17 days of the month and on the 29th.
On the 23rd and 24th, the highest values of the maximum air temperature for the month of February were even exceeded in around 40% of the meteorological stations of the IPMA network.
If the month was hot, it was also dry, aggravating the situation even further. February 2020 was the 5th driest since 1931 (driest in 2012).
The average amount of rainfall in February, 16.6 mm, is only 17% of the 1971-2000 normal value (100.1 mm).
In terms of spatial distribution, precipitation values were lower than normal across the territory, with most regions having a 25% lower than normal.
At the end of February, there was, in relation to the end of January, a significant decrease in the percentage of water in the soil throughout the territory. There are even some places in the Baixo Alentejo and Algarve regions that show values below 20%.
According to the PDSI index, at the end of February, there was an increase in the area and intensity of the meteorological drought in the regions south of the Tagus, with emphasis on the regions of Alentejo and Algarve in the severe and extreme drought classes.
In the regions north of the Tagus, the area of rainfall classes decreased significantly.
The percentage distribution by classes of the PDSI index in the territory is as follows: 0.8% moderate rain, 9.1% light rain, 37.5% normal, 11% mild drought, 15.1% moderate drought, 19.2% severe drought and 7.3% extreme drought.
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