Red warnings have been issued for nearly 3,000 cities in Brazil, which are suffering from an unprecedented heat wave.
City authorities said Rio de Janeiro recorded a temperature of 42. 5C on Sunday – a record for November – and high humidity on Tuesday meant a temperature of 58. More than a hundred million people have been affected by the heat, which is expected to last at least until Friday.
Authorities believe the cause is due to the El Niño phenomenon and climate change. The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) said the city of São Paulo experienced an average temperature of 37. 3°C on Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m exhausted, it’s difficult,” Riquelme da Silva, 22, told AFP news agency on the street there. “When I get home, I’m cold. If I don’t wake up, I’m too tired, and I even have trouble sleeping. “
Dora, a 60-year-old street vendor, described the heat as “unbearable” for those working outside. Inmet has issued a red alert for much of the country.
These suggest temperatures could be 5°C above average for more than 5 days and could pose a serious health risk. The heatwave, more than a month before summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere, has seen Brazil’s energy consumption hit record levels as people try to cool down.
Inmet research published last week found that average temperatures in the country were above the historical average from July to October.
Extreme weather conditions are becoming more frequent and severe in many parts of the world due to climate change. Scientists say heat waves are becoming longer and more intense in many places and this is expected to continue as humans continue to emit greenhouse gases that heat the planet.
Meanwhile, Earth is currently in an El Niño climate phase, a period in which global temperatures typically increase.