Alcoutim, Tavira, Castro Marim and São Braz de Alportel will all have fire-fighters on the highest state of readiness with the strong likelihood of fires due to prevailing weather conditions. An additional 14 other cities spread across central and southern Portugal are on the next level of alert.

The warnings come after a series of extremely warm days, with today set to be even hotter with thermometers set to climb to as high as 37 degrees in some parts.