Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente has released data that states Portugal closed 70 beaches during the summer season. The summer season ended in October when many beaches faced a ban on bathing from time to time.
Portugal Banned 70 Beaches During Summers
Data from Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente revealed that 70 Portuguese beaches imposed for ban on bathing. This data includes all the beaches from North to South. 58 of these beaches are located in Tagus, Centre, and west regions of the country. These two regions alone had 58 swimming bans. 30 of these bans were related to beaches in Oeste and Tietê. The summer season started in May for both these beaches. 28 beaches received a swimming ban in Centre.
For the Tagus and the western regions, the beaches were mostly closed in the municipality of Cascais. The Lisbon district had the most swimming bans on beaches. For the Centre, most beaches received swimming bans within the municipality of Arganil, district of Coimbra. There were 9 beaches in the Algarve, 2 beaches in the North, and 1 beach in Alentejo that were forcibly closed by the government.
The Portuguese Government imposed bans on 70 beaches between May and October. These bans were imposed because of the presence of intestinal enterococci, cyanobacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and salmonella within the waters. Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) along with the local authority was on guard during these bans. No one was allowed to enter the premises of the Portuguese beaches. This ban was implemented to save people from getting ill.
Most Swimming Bans In August
Most of the swimming bans were imposed in the month of August. According to the statistics, there were 28 bans imposed during this month. The number of bans for each month can be viewed as follows:
- May: 3 bans
- June: 7 bans
- July: 25 bans
- August: 28 bans (Most)
- September: 5 bans
- October: 2 bans
Portuguese beaches located in the North of the country advised people not to go swimming. The water was contaminated during the summers in the country. Although the beaches in the center and the south of the country had the most bans for swimming, the beaches in the North were very particular in instructing people against swimming.
The bathing summer season for the year 2024 was opened for the public on 1st May 2024 in the municipality of Cascais. It is located in the district of Lisbon. Some beaches in Madeira were open for the swimming season till 31 October. Every municipality has a right to establish a certain period for the summer swimming season. This is why some municipalities have longer swimming seasons while others have shorter swimming seasons.
APA Conducts Water Analysis
Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) conducts water analysis throughout the summer season. The purpose of this analysis is to check the quality of water. At times, the water can be contaminated by bacteria or viruses. The results of these tests determine whether citizens of Portugal can swim in the water or not.
APA analyzed the water quality by first finding out the bathing season for each municipality. Every beach within various municipalities has a different starting date and a different end date. The City Council was responsible for finding this data. According to the data, 516 bathing waters have been identified within Portugal’s mainland. 362 of these areas belong to coast or transitional waters. While 154 of these areas are interior waters. There are 88 more areas of bathing which are located in Autonomous regions of the Azores while 60 bathing areas are located in autonomous regions of Madeira.
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