Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 6^th August 2025

 

Good morning everyone, We have experienced several  large fires over the last two weeks in Particular the Ponte da Barca fire lasting nine days and the Sirarelos fire for five days so far. The north has been the area most affected, with damage to property, the environment and injuries. So far fortunately no deaths.

Weather conditions are increasingly favourable for large fires, but for fires to occur, there must be ignitions. So the way to avoid this difficult situation, which is progressively getting worse, is to make a much greater effort to minimize ignitions. Regarding the major fires of recent days, when asked whether, with climate change, Portugal is doomed to have more and more fires, Filipe Duarte Santos a university professor and president of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development, replied that this will only happen if nothing is done, and that what needs to be done is to prevent ignitions. The uncomfortable truths: it’s pointless to think of the country without fires, and direct firefighting won’t always be successful.

It is true, that climate change favours weather conditions, that are very conducive to rural fires, with very high temperatures, very dry soil, and this year, especially, a lot of biomass, as last winter was very wet. With increasingly dangerous, uncontrolled fires, strong winds, low humidity, and high temperatures, “what would be necessary would be for there to be practically no ignitions”, the majority of which are of human origin.

There has been calls from various mayors for Portugal to request the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, requesting assistance mainly additional aircraft. The Secretary of State Rui Rocha however highlighted that aerial resources are often unable to operate due to weather conditions and smoke, as was the case with the fires in Ponte da Barca and Arouca. He also added that the situation “is similar in Spain, France, Italy and Greece” and highlighted that “the European mechanism is not a pool of air resources that is available” for each country to collect.

When asked about criticism from some mayors about a lack of resources, Rui Rocha said that he had also been mayor, considering that “for those who are on the ground in a situation of distress and want to respond to a dramatic situation, all resources are scarce” .The Secretary of State also said that the combat assets deployed were those considered “adequate and adequate” by the operational command.

The European Union Civil Protection Mechanism helps EU and non-EU countries respond to emergencies such as natural disasters, health crises or fires. Countries can request assistance from this mechanism whenever an emergency overwhelms their response capabilities.

We sometimes receive reports from people who claim to have been the victim of fraud when purchasing goods on line. Often however these turn out to be a consumer affairs issue. It is therefore important to know you rights as a consumer. This can be found on the website of DECO Portugal Association for Consumer Protect, who are Portugal’s main Consumer Rights organisation Link here: https://deco.pt/mobilidade-e-transportes/deco-informa-sobre-os-direitos-dos-passageiros-consulte-o-nosso-guia/

 

 

News

The state has 10 aircraft that can fight fires but does not use them because there is a lack of “kits”

To be used to fight fires, these aircraft would have to be adapted with a “modular air-transportable firefighting system”, which includes a tank with a capacity of 12 thousand litres.

The Air Force has 10 aircraft that could be used to fight rural fires, but it does not use them for this purpose because the State has not purchased the “kits” that allow the aircraft to be adapted for this mission.

According to the newspaper Público this Wednesday , to be used in fighting the fires, these three heavy aircraft and seven light helicopters of the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) would have to be adapted with a “modular air-transportable fire-fighting system”, which includes a tank with the capacity to carry 12 thousand litres

The “kit” was first used by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) in July 2024 and, according to that entity, has “been an effective tool in fighting forest fires, such as in the Pantanal and in the interior of the state of São Paulo”, says the newspaper.

In a note published on its website, the FAB says that the KC-390 is suitable for “fighting large-scale forest fires.”

The six KC-390s that Portugal purchased from the Brazilian company Embraer – which are intended to replace the Lockheed C-130s that have operated for more than 45 years in the FAP – do not have firefighting as their primary mission, but can be used in these missions.

In August 2019, when the contract to purchase the planes from Embraer was signed, the socialist minister João Gomes Cravinho said that the KC390 would have a “dual use – civil and military, including fighting fires”, but did not explain that the contract did not provide for the purchase of the “kit” that makes this mission possible, writes the newspaper.

The KC-390 only refuels at an airfield – unlike amphibians that can quickly refuel in a river or lake – and takes about 40 minutes to take off again, which affects the rate of water releases.

However, Público explains, it can carry 12,000 liters of water and does not need to be released all at once, meaning a single load can be used for several fires.

 

Climate change expert Filipe Duarte Santos believes that climate change favors large fires, but denies a direct link because, he says, fires only occur because of ignitions.

Weather conditions are increasingly favourable for large fires, but for fires to occur, there must be ignitions. So the way to avoid this difficult situation, which is progressively getting worse, is to make a much greater effort to minimize ignitions.

Regarding the major fires of recent days, when asked whether, with climate change, Portugal is doomed to have more and more fires, Filipe Duarte Santos said that this will only happen if nothing is done, and that what needs to be done is to prevent ignitions.

t is true, he said, that climate change favors weather conditions that are very conducive to rural fires, with very high temperatures, very dry soil, and this year, especially, a lot of biomass, as last winter was very wet.

“Whether we’re going to have increasingly worse situations depends largely on whether or not we’re able to reduce the number of ignitions, which has been decreasing, but relatively little. There are still many ignitions every day, at all hours,” during the afternoon, evening, or early morning.

Thus, summarized the university professor and president of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development, with increasingly dangerous, uncontrolled fires, strong winds, low humidity, and high temperatures, “what would be necessary would be for there to be practically no ignitions”, the majority of which are of human origin.

Filipe Duarte Santos said that another “unique situation” in Portugal must also be resolved: it is the country in the European Union with the highest percentage of burned area in relation to the total continental area.

Citing the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), Filipe Duarte Santos noted that, on average, from 2006 to 2024, the burned area represented 1.05% of mainland Portugal. Greece followed with 0.38%, followed by Cyprus with 0.32%.

“One of the things that needs to be understood is why this is the case.”

The expert, a geophysicist by training, suggests an explanation: “I think it has to do with the fact that forest property, rural buildings, are extremely fragmented.”

In the previous government, he explained, a working group was set up for rural properties which concluded that there are 10.5 million rural properties in the country, mainly in the center and north of the country, with an average size of 0.6 hectares in the center.

“This reduces the economic value of rural properties,” he said, adding that 30% of properties are undivided inheritances, with owners spread across countries like Brazil, France, or England, with many heirs, often dispersed.

“Until we give economic value to rural property in Portugal, which will most likely require land consolidation, this (fires) will continue to happen, because these forested or scrubland parcels are practically abandoned, and something that is abandoned has no value,” he warned.

Mainland Portugal has been on high alert since Sunday and until Thursday due to the high risk of fires. Especially since last week, fires have consumed vast areas, mainly in the center and north of the country.

 

 

 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Montenegro used in disinformation campaign

Disinformation fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased in Portugal, using figures such as Cristino Ronaldo and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to encourage investment in fraudulent platforms, a report developed by IBERIFIER concluded.

The quarterly report from IBERIFIER (Iberian Observatory of Digital Media of Portugal and Spain) reveals that between March and May 2025, in Portugal, there was an increase in AI-fueled disinformation, targeting both national and international figures.

The technology is used for fraudulent financial schemes wrongly attributed to figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Luís Montenegro, with the aim of encouraging investment in fraudulent platforms.

“These publications often use ‘deepfake’ videos or AI-edited screenshots to appear legitimate,” the document states, adding that AI is also used to manipulate narratives related to large-scale fires.

Furthermore, during the study period, the political crisis that led to the fall of the previous government, migration policies, the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV were some of the topics that also dominated disinformation.

When the previous government fell, “there was a significant increase in disinformation campaigns, especially during the election campaign and in televised debates between candidates,” he says.

In this specific case, the observatory highlights the existence of conspiracy theories about the candidates themselves, as well as disinformation campaigns about health, housing, wages, defense, the European Union (EU), reforms, pensions, and immigration.

“Many of these disinformation narratives focused primarily on immigrants, with recurring themes such as violence and the idea that Portuguese people were being replaced in their own country,” the researchers note.

Also, “the blackout that affected Portugal, Spain and several other European countries has become one of the main sources of disinformation in the region” over the last three months.

“The misinformation surrounding this issue was highlighted by repeated attempts to justify the event through unverified allegations and unfounded rumours, thus contributing to a climate of confusion and growing public distrust,” the document reads.

he report presented by IBERIFIER is published quarterly and brings together the main verifications carried out by the 25 entities that make up the consortium in the Iberian Peninsula.