Temperatures regularly exceed 40°C and in places feel close to 60°C – and this, even though the southern summer in South America has not yet started: heat records have been broken in recent weeks in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. It’s an extraordinary spring, already described as“historically hot”, that the subcontinent is experiencing. Heat and drought affect millions of people and threaten harvests.
On Sunday, November 19, the mercury reached 44.8 ° C in Araçuai, in the state of Minas Gerais (southeast), in Brazil, the highest temperature ever recorded in the country, according to the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet). During the unprecedented heatwave which struck in mid-November, half of the country’s 5,500 municipalities were placed on maximum alert.
The heat wave caused a rush to the beaches and panic. In Rio, where the temperature reached 59.3°C, a mother went so far as to break the window of a bus to let her sick child breathe. Under the influence of air conditioners, energy consumption broke a historic record, with 101,475 megawatts, on November 14, while many hydroelectric dams are only partially operating.
The heatwave also had tragic effects. On November 17, a 23-year-old student died following a cardiorespiratory arrest during the concert of American singer Taylor Swift organized in Rio de Janeiro, in a packed Nilton-Santos Olympic stadium where spectators were suffocating. Despite the extreme temperatures, organizers had banned fans from bringing their own water bottles.
Perfect breeding ground for fires
In Bolivia, 13 people died from ” heatstroke “ and of “dehydration”, at the end of November, according to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, in the Santa Cruz region, on the border with Brazil (east). The thermometer had climbed to 43.8°C. Authorities said most of the victims worked outdoors and all had a prior condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
The maximum temperature was reached in a small town in the south of the country, on the Argentinian border: 44.9°C. Never seen. On TikTok, Internet users showed puddles evaporating at record speed.
Mountainous areas did not escape the heat wave. La Paz, the administrative capital, perched at 3,640 meters in the Andes, recorded a peak of 28.9°C in early October and ultraviolet radiation was at its maximum. Residents flocked to the umbrellas offered on every street corner by street vendors who quickly adapted to the demand.
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