Heatwave hits Portugal after records tumble // Foreign investors launch citizenship crackdown fight // Shock new population figures due to immigration

Temperatures are set to soar beyond 40°C in at least seven districts as an extended heatwave settles over Portugal, Público reports. After escaping the baking heat much of the rest of Europe has been sweating through in recent days, our good fortune ends on Tuesday (30/6), the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) predicts. The weather bureau has put Évora, Guarda, Beja, Castelo Branco and Portalegre under a yellow warning — the lowest level — since Monday morning and that will cover all of continental Portugal from Wednesday morning. Several districts in the interior, particularly Évora, could see multiple days above 40°C and Lisbon is expected to get close to that figure. IPMA said the temperature increase was due to an anticyclone north-west of the Azores, “extending in a ridge to the Bay of Biscay”, set to move east from Monday (29/6). From Thursday, the whole country will be at very high or maximum fire risk, meaning several activities including barbecues are banned, Público reports. Several districts in the south and interior are already under such conditions.

Minimum temperatures are also expected to soar, with a string of so-called “tropical nights” — minimums above 20°C — for the capital and many other parts of the country. The body relies on cooler nighttime temperatures to regulate its core temperature and recover from hot days, making hot nights a “major public health concern” that can lead to increased cardiovascular stress and sleep disturbance, Euronews reports, in English.

By Friday, Portugal had already sweated through five heatwaves, totalling 59 days with temperatures at least 5°C above average, Expresso reports. The highest number of heatwave days on record is 80 in 2023 followed by 72 in 2025 and 66 in 2020. IPMA climatologist Ricardo Dias said this year’s figure was “very significant” considering it’s only halfway through the year. “It’s a consequence of a hotter climate on average,” he said.

Portugal was saved from the heatwave that affected much of Europe last week by a maritime low west of Portugal, Público reports. IPMA forecast and surveillance division chief Jorge Ponte said the low sent cooler ocean air towards Portugal, pushing the hotter air mass away. Social media was buzzing with warnings of 40C+ temperatures earlier in the month, which never came to pass. Ponte said those predictions came from some TV commentators and weather pages on Facebook but were never shared by IPMA. He said some models showed the possibility of such temperatures but others showed the exact opposite, meaning the bureau had to weigh all the factors and wait for more certainty to avoid “crying wolf”.

Last week’s weather, the second unprecedented heatwave in Europe this year, caused temperature records to tumble across the continent, Nature reports, in English. Scientists said a heatwave lasting four or five days, with London approaching 40°C, was an anomaly but Europeans could expect to see more of these events in the future as global warming continues. At least 54 people have died from the heat or from drowning in France and an analysis released on Friday found nearly half of 854 cities across Europe broke or would break their time heat-stress records this month. “Heatwaves are here to stay, until we turn the tap off to global emissions,” Copernicus Climate Change Service deputy director Samantha Burgess said. “They’re more frequent, they’re more intense and they’re lasting longer.”