March rain ends extreme drought in Portugal

The rainy days in March have improved the severe and extreme drought facing Portugal, leading to the end of the extreme drought, reports RTP News. By the end of March, only around 80% of Portuguese territory was facing a moderate drought, around 16% was facing a severe drought, and around 2.5% was facing a weak drought. The rain seems to have improved the situation, as, at the end of February, around 90% of Portuguese territory was facing a severe or extreme drought. 

While the country is longer facing extreme drought, most of the country is still facing a moderate drought of the meteorological kind. According to the Portuguese Institute of the Ocean and the Atmosphere (IPMA), a meteorological drought is connected to a low level of precipitation. Luckily, the month of March seems to have improved the drought, being the sixth rainiest month since 2000 in mainland Portugal.

📢 Março de 2022 foi considerado, em Portugal continental, normal na temperatura e chuvoso na precipitação (6º mais chuvoso desde 2000). A seca meteorológica foi desagravada, terminando a seca extrema. Conheça o #BoletimClimatológico 👉https://t.co/IK5GSRG1ZO pic.twitter.com/cZXvzrn95A

— IPMA (@ipma_pt) April 8, 2022

Tweet translation: March 2022 was considered, in mainland Portugal, normal in temperature and rainy in precipitation (the sixth rainiest month since 2000). The meteorological drought has improved, ending the extreme drought. 

The month of January 2022 was the second-dryest month in Portugal since 2000. The extreme drought was predominantly impacting the northeast and southern regions of Portugal. Farmers were being hit financially the hardest with damage done to grass, harming the livestock industry. The Portuguese government also restricted the use of reservoirs for hydroelectric power production to save water.