Portugal, hit by a third heatwave after weeks of wildfires, has been placed on a 24-hour national alert to counter the threat posed by more blazes. Under its measures, the authorities have restricted access to forests and banned fireworks displays, as well as stepping up the state of readiness of the emergency services.

Having only just controlled a fire that destroyed more than 28,000 hectares in the Serra da Estrela national park, civil protection authorities said firefighters were tackling another blaze in the central northern Vila Real region.

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"According to provisional estimates, this fire has burnt 4,500 hectares," said Andre Fernandes, Head of Emergency and Civil Protection Services, of the blaze in a hard-to-access mountainous area. Two Canadair water bomber planes, sent by Greece under the terms of an EU-wide civil protection support mechanism, were aiding firefighters' efforts.

The government issued the alert on Sunday after identifying a heightened risk of rural fires as temperatures look set to hit 40 degrees Celsius on Monday and Tuesday amid an ongoing severe drought.

'A state of natural disaster'

The latest heatwave comes with Portugal having experienced its hottest July in almost a century.

Since January, the country's Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests says more than 94,000 hectares of land have been laid waste to in Portugal's worst forest fires since 2017, when a series of blazes cost dozens of lives.

A fire was finally extinguished last Wednesday, which had burnt more than 25,000 hectares of land in the UNESCO-listed central mountainous area of Serra da Estrela, home to diverse wildlife species including wildcats and lizards.

Minister of the Presidency Marina Vieira da Silva said after meeting mayors of affected municipalities that Lisbon was declaring "a state of natural disaster" to allow the release of rapid aid. The government is also drawing up a "revitalization plan" for the Serra da Estrela park.

The consensus among scientists is that climate change has increased the probability of heatwaves, leading to drought and more forest fires.