The climate in Portugal

Climate zone: The northern part of Portugal is located in the temperate climate zone, while the southern part is subtropical.

A beach holiday can also be enjoyed in the warmer season, but water temperatures will not reach much more than 20 °C. The warmest and at the same time rainiest region is Alentejo. The coldest is North. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is in August. Less attractive are the cold months from November to April.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Evora weather station. In July 2022, the record temperature of 44.2 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 21 weather stations in Portugal below 690 meters altitude, was recorded in 1990 with an average temperature of 23.4 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 22.0 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Evora weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -1.3 °C in January 2023. Evora lies at an altitude of 246 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1972 with an average temperature of 12.3 °C. In Portugal, it is usual to have about 1.3 degrees more at 13.6 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in December 1978. With 20.1 mm per day, the Pedras Rubras weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Flores, Acores. The driest region is near Porto Santo, Madeira.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1997 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1997 to 2022, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Castelo Branco). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2022 at 28.6 °C. January 2000 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 5.9 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 15.6 °C in the years after 1997 and about 16.3 °C in the last years before 2022. It has therefore increased only slightly by about 0.7 °C over the past 26 years. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in Portugal. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average.