Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) has issued a red alert, meaning “high risk of damage to physical integrity and even human life” due to the extreme heat that has been felt in the country since last Sunday, September 17. and which should increase even more this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The forecast is that this Friday in most of Brazil’s 27 states the temperature will reach 40 degrees, and in some cases even 45, with the heat sensation, that is, what people actually feel, above 50 degrees.
A red alert level was declared in nine states: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Tocantins, Paraná, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Para and Goiás. For the rest of the states, Inmet maintained the orange alert level, the second-most severe. , which may be revised and upgraded to red in the coming hours.
In a number of regions of the country, this forecast is not far off, since this Thursday, the 21st, at least 11 of the 27 regional capitals have already recorded temperatures of 35 degrees or above, and in cities in the interior of São Paulo, for example, the indicator The thermometer exceeded 41, although the territory of Sao Paulo is considered a region with a temperate climate. The average temperature in September, when it is still winter, which ends on Saturday, is usually 23 degrees.
On Saturday and Sunday, still in the capital Sao Paulo, the forecast temperature will be 38 degrees, 15 above normal, which, if confirmed, would be the highest ever for the city, which is already facing stifling temperatures this Thursday. 35, the heat increased significantly due to the huge asphalt pavement on the sparsely tree-lined streets. In central-west states such as Goiás and Mato Grosso, thermometers are expected to rise to at least 45 degrees over the weekend, and in some places could approach 50, which is unusual even for local populations. tropical country.
If the hottest states are already suffering from extreme temperatures, what can we say about the states further south, such as Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, where the climate is almost European and where it snows at this time of year, where faced with a heat of 35 degrees, as happened in Porto Alegre, or 32, as it was this Friday in Curitiba.
Responsibility for these extremes lies in the El Niño phenomenon, aggravated by undeniable climate changes caused by human activity. Cities across Brazil are taking extreme measures to try to minimize the impact of extreme heat on their residents, who are filling hospital emergency rooms with acute dehydration and other illnesses resulting from the extreme temperatures.