The temperature of the Algarve’s seawater was two degrees warmer this July than last, according to the national weather service.
The water varied in temperature from between 22 degrees Celcius in the west and 26 degrees Celcius in the east due to warm winds blowing across from Gibraltar bringing balmy waters from the Mediterranean.
The sea temperatures by mid-July were the warmest for 35 years, according to the Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere.
Seawater temperatures in the frozen north of the country were lower than average at 15 degrees Celcius, with swimmers in the Lisbon central coastal area suffering in water that barely reached 19 degrees Celcius.
A group of 26 holidaymakers including eight children at Marinha beach, near Ferragudo, had to be rescued in an operation that saw the local lifeboat standing by but unable to approach after the group was caught yesterday by the incoming tide.
As darkness fell, the well-coordinated land operation by the Maritime Police led them to safety and ensured there were no injuries but plenty of embarrassed faces among the Spainsh and Portuguese who had ended up huddled in a cave as the tide rose.
