Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – This Sunday, March 17, Brazil registered new records due to the heat wave in the country and in Rio de Janeiro the thermal sensation reached 62.3 ºC, the highest in a decade. Sao Paulo is also experiencing the hottest March in its history.
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In the west of Rio de Janeiro, the thermal sensation reached 62.3 degrees Celsius at 9:55 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 17, the Rio Alert System reported on the X social network. The highest figure since these measurements began in 2014.
⚠️ RECORD THERMAL SENSATION | Page (17/03), the Guaratiba station has reached the highest value of Thermal Sensitivity since the beginning of two records@AlertaRio, cooling at 62.3°C. Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Hydrate yourself! pic.twitter.com/sz0S1HGvAG
— Rio Alert System – Prefeitura do Rio (@AlertaRio) March 17, 2024
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 the thermal sensation of 60.1 ºC 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 real maximum temperatures of 42 ºC in the city.
“We are trying to protect ourselves, to go to a more open place that has the sea, but we have to do something to prevent it,” says Raquel Correia in a central park.
“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 fullas, while the authorities published tips to cope 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.
“Before we didn't have heat like this, now it has changed a lot, from a while back to now,” says Vanuza Maria Estevan, a 40-year-old resident of the city.
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.
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 Center-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 most affected in the state, released images of flooded streets and buses submerged up to half 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.
With AFP
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