Extreme weather is becoming more frequent in Brazil, according to official data seen by The Guardian newspaper on Friday, as flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain have killed roughly 150 people so far this year
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2020) Extreme weather is becoming more frequent in Brazil, according to official data seen by The Guardian newspaper on Friday, as flooding and landslides caused by heavy rain have killed roughly 150 people so far this year.
The occurrence of what the newspaper calls "extreme rainfall events," defined as when more than 3.14 or 3.90 inches of rain falls within 24 hours, has increased significantly during the past 30 years due to rising temperatures in the south-eastern states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais, the epicenter of the recent deadly events.
The newspaper cited data from Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology, showing that the number of extreme rainfall events between 1990 and 2020 in Sao Paulo was three times greater than the equivalent value recorded between 1960 and 1990.
This past week, 11.1 inches of rain fell in the space of 12 hours in Guaruja, near the city of Sao Paulo, the newspaper stated. This amount was greater than the expected monthly total for March.
Heavy rains in the state of Minas Gerais also caused the deaths of 59 people in January, according to the newspaper.
On March 5, the CNN broadcaster, citing the Sao Paulo Civil Defense Authority and Rio de Janeiro governor, stated that at least 32 people died in the space of four days as a result of heavy rains.
Brazil was one of three countries, along with China and India, that blocked an agreement on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes a mechanism of global green development, at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid in December.
