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The cold wave continues in Brazil, as a result of the passage of the Yakecan storm. This Friday, negative temperatures continued to be recorded in several regions. This week, the country experienced an unprecedented cold wave with records for negative temperatures, strong winds and snow. Temperatures are expected to begin to rise over the weekend.
This Friday, the effects of subtropical storm Yakecan continued to be felt. Brazil registered negative temperatures in several regions of the south of the country, such as -3.8°C in the state of Rio de Janeiro or -1.8°C in Santa Catarina.
The storm formed on Monday near the coast of Rio Grande do Sul. The movement of the cyclone towards the mainland caused very strong gusts of wind in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina between Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, snowfall was recorded in areas of the Sierras Gaúcha and Catarinense and also in southern Paraná. The storm also favored the intensification of a strong mass of cold air on the continent, and as of Wednesday, temperatures began to drop more intensely.
Wednesday afternoon was a record in São Paulo, with the lowest maximum temperature for the month of May since 1961, with 12.3°C.
On Thursday, temperatures continued to drop in most of Brazil, including parts of the North and Northeast regions. The day recorded record temperatures in the Federal District, with only 1.4°C, the lowest temperature recorded by the National Institute of Meteorology in the Federal District since the beginning of measurements in 1963.
A cold wave accentuated by global warming
“In autumn, it is natural for the polar air masses coming from the Antarctic region to approach the equator, lowering temperatures,” Brazilian meteorologist Josélia Pegorim explained to France 24. “But in combination with Storm Yakecan, which is relatively stagnant due to its unusual atmospheric configuration, it has created a kind of barrier that leaves cold air masses somewhat trapped within the country.”
The phenomenon cannot be isolated from global warming either, which unbalances the movements of air masses.
“What allows air masses to move is the difference in temperature between the tropics and the poles,” meteorologist Giovanni Dolif explained to the Brazilian television channel Globo. “But temperatures in Antarctica don’t rise as much as they do in the tropical belt, like in Brazil. So the movement of these masses intensifies to try to compensate for the imbalance, leading to stronger winds, storms and cold snaps in places where They didn’t exist before.”
Human and material consequences
On Wednesday, a 66-year-old homeless man, who had allegedly spent the night on the street, died in São Paulo after falling ill in a food distribution queue.
The São Paulo City Council has announced the creation of 2,000 additional reception beds to increase its total capacity to 17,000. A figure still insufficient for the 32,000 people without shelter who live in the city.
On Tuesday, some 220,000 houses were without power in several cities, including Rio Grande do Sul capital Porto Alegre and Rio Grande port. In the city of São José do Norte, the Fire Department had to rescue people who were isolated by the floods.
The cold wave could also have consequences on coffee crops, with Brazil being the largest coffee producer in the world.
The cyclone was also felt in Uruguay, where very strong winds and heavy rains left at least one person dead and thousands of homes without power, according to authorities.
with local media
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