Brazil hits hottest temperature ever recorded during searing spring heat wave – “I can’t even get up because I’m so tired. It’s even hard to sleep.”
By Rebecca Falconer
22 November 2023
(Axios) – Brazil has sweltered through its hottest day since record-keeping began, as an extreme spring heat wave envelopes the country.
By the numbers: The town of Araçuaí, in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, beat the nation’s previous record from November 2005 on Sunday when the temperature reached 44.8°C (112.6°F), per Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology.
The big picture: El Niño and climate change have helped drive the weeks-long heat wave that’s set several daily and monthly records, caused power outages in major cities and threatened crops and biodiversity in places such as Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands — where thousands of wildfires are burning.
- The unprecedented weather that garnered national attention after a woman died in blistering heat at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro on Friday is expected to finally ease this week.
Brazil hits hottest temperature ever recorded during searing spring heat wave
Brazil: Health warnings as country gripped by “unbearable” heatwave
By Kathryn Armstrong and Leonardo Rocha
15 November 2023
(BBC News) – Red alerts have been issued for almost 3,000 towns and cities across Brazil, which have been experiencing an unprecedented heatwave.
Rio de Janeiro recorded 42.5C on Sunday – a record for November – and high humidity on Tuesday meant that it felt like 58.5C, municipal authorities said.
More than a hundred million people have been affected by the heat, which is expected to last until at least Friday.
Officials have attributed it to the El Niño phenomenon and climate change.
The city of São Paulo saw average temperatures of 37.3C on Tuesday afternoon, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) reported.
“I’m exhausted, it’s hard,” Riquelme da Silva, 22, told AFP news agency on the streets there.
“When I get home, it’s cold water, otherwise I can’t even get up because I’m so tired. It’s even hard to sleep.”
Dora, a 60-year-old street vendor, described the heat as “unbearable” for those who worked outside.
Inmet has issued red alerts for a large part of the country. These indicate that temperatures may be 5C above average for longer than five days and could pose a serious danger to health.
The heatwave, which comes more than a month before the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere, has seen Brazil’s energy consumption soar to record levels as people try to keep themselves cool.
Inmet research released last week showed that the average temperature in the country had been above the historical average from July to October.
Extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense in many places around the world because of climate change.
According to scientists, heatwaves are becoming longer and more intense in many places and this is expected to continue whilst humans keep releasing planet-warming greenhouse gases.
Meanwhile, the Earth is currently in an El Niño weather phase, during which time global temperatures typically increase. [more]
Brazil: Health warnings as country gripped by ‘unbearable’ heatwave
