LISBON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government said on Wednesday there will be "zero tolerance" of fire-risk behavior, as temperatures set to soar as high as 45 degrees celsius.
"We're doing everything we can to raise awareness, but the instruction we've given to the security forces in surveillance terms is for zero tolerance of risky behaviour," said the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, on a visit to an airbase in the Algarve.
"Don't do any agricultural work that represents a risk, don't use fire, don't light barbecues or grill sardines near forests, don't set off fireworks in high-risk areas," Cabrita added, in comments reported by the Lusa Portuguese News agency.
The National Republican Guard (GNR) went even further, advising people against smoking in hot and dry rural areas.
The GNR also announced that fire-prevention patrols would be increased in the coming days, with 5,200 officers on duty up and down the country.
The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has put 11 districts on red alert due to high temperatures. The 11 are spread about the north and center of the country and include Lisbon.
The IPMA has forecast a gradual rise in temperatures between Wednesday and the weekend. Minimums are expected to be around 30 degrees celsius, with maximums of 45 degrees anticipated in the interior regions of Alentejo and Beira Baixa, and the Douro and Tagus river valleys.
The weather has been unseasonably wet and cool in Portugal so far in 2018. This has so far helped ensure no repeat of last year's devastating forest fires.
Over a hundred people died and more than 400,000 hectares were destroyed by wildfires in Portugal in 2017.
