September was the second hottest month in Europe and also in global terms, although in Portugal it was considered cold and dry, reported the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
In a characterization of last month released today, the IPMA highlights the fact that September was the second hottest on record, after September last year, and that the global average temperature was 16,17 degrees Celsius (°C), 0,73°C above the 1991-2020 average value.
The IPMA also highlights estimates that the month was around 1,54°C warmer than the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900, being the 14th month “in a 15-month period in which the global average surface air temperature exceeded 1,5°C”.
The value of 1,5ºC above the pre-industrial average is the one that, according to scientists, should not be exceeded to prevent serious and irreversible impacts of global warming. It was established as a target not to be exceeded by practically all countries in the world at the climate summit in Paris in 2015, which resulted in the so-called Paris Agreement.
According to the IPMA, in Europe the average air temperature was 1,74°C above the 1991-2020 average. It was the second warmest September, after September 2023.
Air temperatures in Europe, the Institute says, were above average in eastern and northeastern Europe, with heatwaves in Norway and Sweden, and below average in much of western Europe, including France, most of the Iberian Peninsula and Iceland.
In mainland Portugal, it was a month classified as cold in terms of temperature and dry in terms of precipitation.
The average temperature was 0,81ºC below the normal value (1981-2010) and was the fourth lowest since 2000. The maximum temperature had the fifth lowest value and the minimum temperature was the third lowest value (average values and since 2000).
As for rainfall, the value of 32,9 millimeters corresponds to 76% of the average value 1981-2010. More rain was recorded in the second half of the month, especially in the north and center.
The area of mainland Portugal in meteorological drought has decreased in the north and central regions. South of the Tagus River, moderate and severe drought classes predominate, with the IPMA highlighting the districts of Beja (inland) and Faro with several locations in the severe drought class.
“At the end of September, around 69% of the territory was in a mild to severe meteorological drought,” according to the IPMA bulletin for the month of September. There was no region of the country in extreme drought.