Rio warns of extreme heat and the chance of record highs this week February 16, 2025

Photo Fernando Frazão

Rio warns of extreme heat and the chance of record highs this week

The city could exceed 41.8°C, the highest ever recorded in February

Weather forecasts point to high temperatures in the city of Rio de Janeiro, especially on Monday (17) and the following day. The Rio Alert System indicates that these days could be the hottest of the week and could break the record for the hottest day ever recorded in February, which is 41.8 degrees Celsius (°C), in the year 2023.

“We could go above that, especially on Tuesday,” said Raquel Franco, chief meteorologist at the Rio Alert System. “We're in a very dry February with little rain. The current average [rainfall] on February 16 is only 5 millimeters (mm). We'll have another week without rain, and the forecast for the end of February doesn't indicate much rain. We could have one of the driest Februarys in history”.

Faced with this scenario, Rio City Hall has announced that if the city reaches Calor 4 in the protocol created by the municipal administration, the population will be able to count on the opening of 58 cooling points. “These are areas that provide shade, hydration points, and toilets in Naves of Knowledge and municipal parks, Olympic villages and other municipal facilities,” said the chief executive of the Operations and Resilience Center (COR-Rio), Marcus Belchior, adding that the list of locations will be available on the COR app.

In addition, employees who work in the sun must take breaks to hydrate. The municipal health network should be prepared for the increase in cases resulting from the high temperatures. The recommendation is to increase water intake, wear light clothing, and avoid direct exposure to the sun at peak times.

“We're in Heat 3, and there's a huge probability and possibility that we'll be in Heat 4 this week. There's probably no indication from the forecasts that we're going to reach Heat 5,” said Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, at a press conference to assess the weather conditions and announce measures for the population.

Paes said that no one from the municipal administration would ask for street parades to be canceled, nor would they prevent the population from participating in activities in the city during this summer and Carnival period, with intense heat forecast. Nonetheless, he recommended extreme caution given the weather forecast.

“Anyone who has ever jumped, played in a carnival block in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the day, knows what I'm talking about, but we can call the attention of revelers to drink more water, hydrate better, take certain precautions, try to be in an environment where the health risks are lower,” he said, he said, commenting that the turning point in Rio's reading of the heat in the city was the death, in November 2023, from heat exhaustion, of 23-year-old student Ana Clara Benevides Machado, during a concert by American singer Taylor Swift, at the Engenhão stadium, in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro.

“We don't want to control anyone. What we want is for people to be aware of what's going on, of the risks; these are concerns that the population itself has to take. We're not going to put a chip in every citizen,” said Paes.

The mayor pointed out that Rio's summer has always been very hot and that it's nothing new for the city to reach 40° C at this time of year. This situation has been repeated this year, but now with the aggravating factor of the intensity, the repetition of days with intense heat and the thermal sensation have been greater than ever before.

“We're trying to give you and the population a warning of the week ahead. Let's hope the weather confirms the sun but drops the temperatures. I'd be the happiest man in the world if we said that the whole week was sunny, we'll have sunshine until April, but temperatures will remain between 25°C and 32°C in the city of Rio de Janeiro. That's not the most likely scenario,” he added.

Another observation made by the mayor is that the advancement of science has allowed us to have more elements that show the impacts on people's lives and health.

“In the past, without the information that science, medicine, gives us today, people would die from the heat in Rio de Janeiro as a result of the high temperatures, and the diagnosis of that illness that the person was facing was not credited to the heat. As science has advanced, we have been able to identify the harm that excessive temperatures have on people's health,” he said, adding that advances in science have made it possible to improve the analysis of meteorological data, which can now predict temperatures over longer periods with greater certainty.

Citing his schedule, Paes said that to avoid risks to the residents of Ramos and Bonsucesso, he had canceled his appointment this Sunday at noon to talk to them about the works of the Bairro Maravilha Program. “Imagine that little midday sun that works on the asphalt,” he said.

COR-Rio began monitoring heat levels in June of last year. The classification has five risk levels that vary according to the temperature and relative humidity recorded in the city. During the interview, Paes asked for a change in the nomenclature of the protocol, which was created with phases of heat levels from NC1 to NC5. In his opinion, it is easier for the population to understand what is meant by Heat 1 to heat 5 (C1 to C5).

Dehydration

The municipal health secretary, Daniel Soranz, said that the municipal health units have registered an increase in demand for emergency care for people suffering from dehydration.

“In January alone, we estimate that 3,000 people were treated for problems linked to heat or dehydration. We are very concerned about the elderly and children, who feel less thirsty and ask for water more easily. Two babies were taken into care because of excessive clothing. It's important for moms, especially first-time moms, to be aware of children's dehydration,” she said, also pointing out the secretariat's concern about the use of hair waxes and homemade sunscreen, which cause skin burns. In the case of waxes, they run off in the heat and can cause retinal burns, according to the secretary.

“This has been very common, very frequent in emergencies,” he added.

Care should also be taken with people with heart problems, diabetics, and hypertensive patients, who are more prone to rapid decompensation. The secretary also asked people to be careful with their pets to avoid burning their paws when they are taken out on very hot sidewalks and streets.

Symptoms

According to the city, extreme heat causes symptoms such as increased breathing rates, worsening of allergies and asthma, worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver damage, cramps, muscle spasms, weakness, headaches, dizziness, irritability, loss of coordination, mental confusion, delirium, anxiety, loss of consciousness, convulsions, strokes, arrhythmia, accelerated heartbeat, reduced blood flow to the heart, heart attack. In addition, kidney disease and failure.

The municipal secretary for the Environment and Climate, Tainá de Paula, said that it has been a concern of the municipality to carry out projects to minimize the impact of these climate effects. According to her, the municipality is also adapting in the medium and long term with reforestation initiatives that have been yielding positive results compared to around 15 soccer fields or 154 hectares.

“The idea that we're going to be able to stop climate change, the rise in the Earth's temperature, doesn't just depend on Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro will be able to cope with the thermal sensation over the next few decades, but the reduction of this temperature unfortunately doesn't depend on Rio alone. We need to be able to build a climate pedagogy, but also build an idea that all cities will be able to adapt,” he concluded.

By AGÊNCIA BRASIL

Cristina Índio do Brasil

Published on 16/02/2025 - 14:31

Rio de Janeiro