The city of Lisbon is monitoring the meteorological conditions in order to activate the contingency plan for the homeless, if required.
According to the Mayor of Lisbon, both the Mayor’s office and the Civil Protection are monitoring the meteorological conditions closely. If the low temperatures reach a certain level, the contingency plan shall be activated.
In order for the plan to be activated, certain criteria must be met. The Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere has to emit a yellow or orange cold weather alert. Such an alert corresponds to temperatures between 37.4ºF and 30.2ªF for, at least, 48 hours.
If that happens and the alert is emitted, the Mayor does not have to do anything. The plan is immediately, and automatically activated, and Lisbon’s Civil Protection shall guarantee that those that live on the street are protected.
The plan is designed to accommodate more than 1.000 people during the night, and there are several locations throughout the city that are prepared for the eventuality. If activated, those in need will also benefit from social and medical support, hygienic care, and warm food and clothes.
Up until now, the criteria have not been met. However, the Mayor requested the Civil Protection to check the projections of the Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere every hour.
Furthermore, the Mayor also stated that, even if the criteria are not met, the plan can still be activated. If the Mayor himself notes that the temperature is too cold for someone to be sleeping on the street, in his opinion, he will immediately call for the activation, independently of the established protocol.
