Brazil Heat Wave Breaks Records: Extreme Temperatures in Rio and Sao Paulo

2024-03-18 20:04:58

A heat wave that hits Brazil left new records this Sunday, registering 62.3 ºC of thermal sensation in Rio de Janeiro, the highest in a decade, while Sao Paulo is experiencing the hottest March in its history.

In the west of Rio, the thermal sensation reached 62.3 degrees Celsius at 09:55 local time, the Rio Alert System reported on the X social network, which said it was the highest mark since it began making these measurements in 2014.

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The indicator exceeded 55 ºC in several areas of the city, such as in Jardín Botánico, a leafy residential neighborhood in the south, where it was 57.7 ºC.

It was the second consecutive day of records, after 60.1 ºC of thermal sensation was also reached in the west on Saturday. The previous highest mark had been last November (59.7 ºC).

Rio Alert warned on Sunday of actual maximum temperatures of 42ºC in the city.

A man jumps from a rock on Recreio dos Bandeirantes beach amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 17, 2024. (Photo by TERCIO TEIXEIRA / AFP).

“I am very afraid that it will get worse, because the population is increasing a lot and deforestation is very high due to the increase in housing,” lamented this 49-year-old administrative assistant.

The emblematic beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana looked packed, while authorities published tips for coping with the heat.

The Cariocas also went to take refuge in the Tijuca Park, an important nature reserve in the heart of the city.

Sao Paulo, for its part, experienced its hottest day so far this year on Saturday, when the thermometer read 34.7 °C.

That temperature was also the highest for a month of March since the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) began keeping records in 1943.

On Sunday the relief was almost imperceptible, with 34.3 ºC, equaling the previous record for a month of March recorded in 2012.

The parks and squares of the most populated city in the country were filled.

Many chose to head to the coastal resorts, which caused traffic jams at the entrances to Sao Paulo, with lines of cars up to 20 kilometers long, local media reported.

Aerial view of people enjoying the Recreio dos Bandeirantes beach in the middle of a hot weather in Río de Janeiro, Brazil, taken on March 17, 2024. (Photo by TERCIO TEIXEIRA / AFP).

Extreme rains in the south

Meanwhile, extreme rains were wreaking havoc in the south of the country and will continue next week, according to authorities.

“The week will be very high risk in the Central-South of Brazil due to intense rains and storms. The most worrying system is a very intense cold front that will arrive with torrential rains and possible gales,” the meteorological information agency MetSul warned on Sunday.

In some localities in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, “exceptionally high volumes” of precipitation were recorded, up to 300 millimeters.

The mayor’s office of the municipality of Uruguaiana, the worst affected in the state, released images of flooded streets and buses half submerged in water.

It is estimated that up to 500 mm of rain could fall, according to Metsul.

In February, Rio Grande do Sul had been smothered in extreme temperatures due to an “extreme heat dome” coming from Argentina.

Experts attribute extreme phenomena and meteorological instability to climate change and a worsening of the El Niño phenomenon.

Scientists estimate that current global temperatures are about 1.2ºC higher overall than in the mid-19th century, causing an increase in floods, droughts and heat waves.

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