Five dams have suspended electricity production, as a result of the drought situation and consequently minimum historical storage levels. Suspension measures may extend for some time and, in the limit, until further notice, up to end of the hydrological year, if the situation continues. Drought that Portugal is experiencing may lead to measures to restrict the use of water for various less essential activities.

Researcher Pedro Matos Soares, from the Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, which is one of the partners of the project National Roadmap for Adaptation 2100 (RNA2100), mentions that the project is relevant to this issue, which is being developed together with the Portuguese Environment Agency, Bank of Portugal, Directorate General of the Territory, Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere and Norwegian Civil Protection.

Portugal currently has 91% of its territory in severe and extreme drought, since this February (and until the day of this RTP report) only 7% of the rainfall that should have occurred, worsening a water stress problem that has been dragging on for several months.

Researcher Pedro Matos Soares, from the Faculty of Science of the University of Lisbon, which is one of the partners of the project National Roadmap for Adaptation 2100 (RNA2100), refers to the relevance of the project for this issue, which is being developed together with the Portuguese Environment Agency, Bank of Portugal, Directorate General of the Territory, Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute and the Norwegian Civil Protection. RNA2100 intends to define evolution narratives of vulnerabilities and impacts related to climate change, as well as assessment of investment needs for adaptation and socio-economic costs of inaction, supporting and providing responses to public policy exercises on adaptation to climate change at the various levels of territorial intervention, with ambition to become an important promoter of education and awareness on adaptation to climate change.

This researcher also explains causes of this period of meteorological drought and addresses, in parallel, climate change developments, particularly Arctic warming and its effects in this type of scenarios, such as the Azores anticyclone's shift towards North Atlantic, with consequences for various sectors. The researcher also adds that " meteorological models (in terms of changes in persistence and extent of Azores anticyclone) point to an increase in spatial extent of the anticyclone and therefore an increase in the frequency of occurrence of these phenomena (in the future).

Pedro Matos Soares highlights concerns associated to a reduction in precipitation simultaneously with a predicted rise in temperature, which will increase evaporation and further aggravate this problem, highlighting an urgent need for action in terms of adaptation to climate change, in a time when there is still "much inefficiency in the use of water", making people conscious about this fact, as well as reinforcing importance to adapt crops to our climate and to monitor water supply networks, in order to minimise losses.

To see the article go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDzMC8hOVlQ