Portugal also recorded its third-warmest summer on record this year. (EPA Images pic)

LISBON: Portugal experienced its hottest September this year since records started in 1931, the IPMA national weather agency said Wednesday.

It said the average air temperature was 23.4°C, some 2.9°C higher than the average for 1991-2020 "making this month of September the hottest since 1931," the IPMA said in a statement.

"The maximum air temperature reached 31.03°C, about 4.21°C above the norm, which is again the highest of a historic series," it added.

Portugal was hit by two hot spells during the month, according to the agency, which said September was the fifth driest for rainfall since 2000.