The IPMA Meteorological Office said in its monthly bulletin issued on Wednesday that during the period between 2 and 24 April a series of very high temperatures were registered, well above what is considered normal for this time of the year.
“The 18th and the 19th were the hottest, with an average temperature of 19 degrees Celsius. In relation to the highs, the 11th recorded the highest average value of 28 degrees Celsius”, the Met Office said.
The IPMA added that highest temperature in April was registered at the Aljezur weather station in the Algarve, with a high of 32.9 degrees Celsius, followed by Mora in the Upper Alentejo, where a temperature of 32.8 degrees was recorded.
The record-breaking heat in April was felt over extended periods in northern and central Portugal, with the exception of coastal areas, while heatwaves were also registered in Lisbon, Santarém and Setúbal.
Despite setting the highest temperature, the Algarve did not record any heatwaves in April.
The IMPA said that the heatwaves, considering their duration and magnitude, are comparable only to April 1941.
But, with the prolonged heat came drought; April 2017 was the driest on record, with 40 percent of all weather stations failing to register any rainfall up until 29 April.
By the end of April, the amount of land mass affected by the drought had spread to 96 percent, though scattered showers forecast for this weekend are hoped to ease the situation to some degree.
The Algarve remained the only region in Portugal that was not in a state of drought at the beginning of the week
The extended forecast has meanwhile revealed that northern and central parts of the country should expect above-average rainfall up until 14 May, though nationwide thermometers are expected to rise to above normal
figures.
Looking ahead to the summer, the Met Office does not expect any major shifts in rainfall, though average temperatures are forecast to surpass existing averages.