News about weather hazards in Portugal in the newspaper Gazeta de Lisboa (1715-1762)

Abstract

The attention given by the press to meteorological events, especially to climatic extremes, makes this kind of publication a fundamental source to the study of the climate and weather conditions. The quantity and quality of the news, often associated with detailed descriptions of phenomena and damage, and its broad geographical coverage are just some of the advantages we can find in this type of publication. In this paper, we intend to analyze one of the main Portuguese newspapers and the one with most enduring in the history of our press: the Gazeta de Lisboa. We aim to present a qualitative and quantitative study of all the news about meteorological events concerning Portugal, published in this journal between 1715 and 1762, aiming, not only, to establish patterns of perception and registration variables, but also to prove the importance of the periodical press to the study of climate and weather conditions.