539 deaths in one week. The heat is back.

The heat is back, and it is serious. It's Tuesday, 28 July. Thirty-two degrees. Air quality: 40 (Fair). Here's what you need to know.

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DANGEROUS HEAT IS BACK. HERE IS WHAT THE LAST HEATWAVE ACTUALLY DID.

All districts except Faro are under a yellow weather warning through Thursday, with the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) forecasting temperatures of up to 37 degrees in Lisbon, 40 in Santarém and Évora, and the vast majority of the mainland at maximum or very high fire risk. If you have been through a Lisbon summer before, none of that sounds unusual. The numbers underneath it should.

Between 2 and 8 July, during the previous heatwave, Portugal recorded approximately 539 excess deaths in a single week. During the four-day period when the government declared an alert across the mainland (3 to 6 July), 313 of those deaths were recorded. In June alone, 27 European countries recorded 10,650 excess deaths from heat in a single week. Portugal has now experienced six heatwaves in 2026, amounting to 59 days under heatwave conditions before the end of July.

The people most at risk are the elderly, anyone with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, and people who live alone without air conditioning. But the heat affects everyone. Dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke can develop faster than most people expect, especially for anyone exercising, working outdoors or spending time in the sun between noon and four.

The practical steps are straightforward. Drink water before you feel thirsty, not after. Avoid being outdoors during the hottest part of the day (roughly noon to four). Close shutters and blinds on sun-facing windows in the morning, before the heat builds. If you do not have air conditioning, the shopping centres (Colombo, Vasco da Gama, Amoreiras) are the most accessible cooled public spaces. Check on elderly neighbours or anyone you know who lives alone. If someone shows signs of confusion, very hot skin, or stops sweating in the heat, call 112 immediately, that is heatstroke.

For pets: walk dogs early in the morning or after sunset. Test the pavement with the back of your hand. If it is too hot for your skin, it is too hot for their paws.

What this means for you: this is not about alarming anyone. It is about the fact that 539 people died in a week during the last wave, most of them preventable deaths, and August is expected to be worse. IPMA's seasonal outlook puts temperatures above normal across the country, and forecasting models are already flagging early August as the next likely window for sustained extreme heat. The precautions are simple and they work.

Bottom line: the heat this week is real and the risks are documented. Take the basics seriously, check on people around you, and stay out of the sun in the middle of the day.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Galp says it "makes no sense" to cap fuel margins. After fuel crossed €2 a litre this week, Portugal's largest fuel company has publicly rejected the idea of an exceptional cap on fuel margins, arguing that current market conditions do not justify the measure. This comes after the Energy Minister asked the regulator ERSE (Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos) to investigate why international price drops are slow to reach Portuguese pumps. The government pointed at the supply chain; the supply chain has pointed back.

New elevators at Lisbon's Martim Moniz and Intendente metro stations went live yesterday. Two new elevators at Martim Moniz and three at Intendente now give both stations fully accessible routes from the street to the platform. The metro network is now 84% accessible, with 47 of 56 stations equipped with elevators. Praça de Espanha is next, due by the end of August. Since January, elevator downtime across the network has dropped from 33% to 17%.

Environmental groups are demanding climate shelters across Portugal. Under the campaign name "Lisbon is not a sauna," activists are calling for cooled public spaces, shaded infrastructure and heat-adaptation measures in Portuguese cities. The context: 539 excess deaths in one week in July, 10,650 across Europe in a single week in June. The question is not whether the heat is getting worse. It is whether anyone is building the infrastructure to deal with it.

Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

ŌSHIKI BY SOLAR 31 (AREEIRO)

If you have written off sushi in Lisbon as mostly average, ŌSHIKI will change your mind. On Avenida de Paris 18C, tucked into a residential stretch near Roma metro that most people walk past without looking twice, the kitchen is built around one idea: Japanese technique, Portuguese fish.

The catch comes from the coast, not flown in frozen, and it shows. The nigiri is clean and precise, the sashimi is cut to order, and the creative rolls are restrained enough that you can actually taste the fish rather than the sauce. There is a Portuguese wine list alongside the usual sake options, and a terrace overlooking Jardim Irma Lúcia for warm evenings.

Reckon on €20 to €45 a head depending on how far you go into the menu. Book ahead through TheFork or by phone (+351 21 136 9866), because once the terrace fills, you are waiting.

→ See the menu and find them here ←

Insider tip: if tuna toro is on the menu, order it. It does not always appear but when it does, its a delight and authentically Japanese dish.

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See you tomorrow morning.

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