El Niño causes rains in South and intense heat in other regions of Brazil
In the Central-West region, high temperatures and low humidity should continue for at least ten days.
While residents of cities in southern states of Brazil, especially Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, suffer with heavy rains and hailstorms, the residents of other states seek ways to cope with high temperatures and low humidity. According to National Meteorology Institute (INMET), the "responsible" for the change in the country's climate is the El Niño phenomenon, which is more intense this year than usual.
According to Inmet's meteorologist Mamedes Luiz Melo, El Niño "is preventing the arrival of an advancing cold front from the South and Southeast [regions], and the lack of rain in the Central-West region further reduces humidity in the air mass, causing low relative humidity of air and higher temperatures."
El Niño is defined by prolonged warming in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. This change in temperature, said Melo, causes a change in the model of the general circulation of the atmosphere. In Brazil, the phenomenon causes heavier rainfall in the South and Southeast regions and drier weather in the North and Northeast regions.
"Because El Niño is very intense, the country's central region is also being affected. Usually, it [the phenomenon] occurs in November, reaching its peak in December. This year, it had already begun to cause changes on the oceans in May," said the meteorologist.
Heavy rains are expected in those states. In Rio Grande do Sul, for example, the number of municipalities severely affected by the rains rose to 100.
Forecast
The weather forecast will not bring good news to the residents of southern states, who have already had losses due to the bad weather. Heavy rains are expected in those states. In Rio Grande do Sul, for example, the number of municipalities severely affected by the rains rose to 100.
"In the country's South, lashing rains are expected until December, January and February and then the amount of rain will decrease, when the temperatures of the Pacific Ocean are expected to drop back to normal," announced Melo.
For the Southeast region, the amount of rains is expected to continue within the average for the period, except in the south of São Paulo, where the rainfall should be "slightly above average".
In the Central-West region, high temperatures and low humidity should continue for at least ten days. "There might be some rain in the central region of the country after October 25th," stated the meteorologist. To the Northeast region, the forecast predicts low level of rainfalls, which leads to a harshly critical situation in the arid backlands of the Northeast, radically affected by prolonged droughts.
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
Fonte: El Niño causes rains in South and intense heat in other regions of Brazil
