Heat waves still neglected in Brazil, says researcher

Brazilian researcher Renata Libonati has warned that heat waves are still an overlooked issue in the country, despite causing 50,000 deaths between 2000 and 2020. Despite the severity of this figure, the problem remains under-addressed, according to Libonati, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a member of the World Meteorological Organization’s Committee of Experts on Climate Monitoring.

The researcher highlighted data from Brazil's national health care network, SUS, covering 14 metropolitan regions, which showed that heat waves are still neglected compared to other disasters, such as landslides, which caused 20 times fewer deaths during the same period. This neglect arises from the tendency to view heat as a common, tropical occurrence, but Libonati argues that this perspective is misguided.

She further emphasized the potential exacerbation of heat waves during the arrival of a new El Niño, which is expected to bring exceptionally high temperatures in 2026. Libonati's comments were made during a panel discussion on the implications of El Niño at Rio's Museum of Tomorrow. Other experts participating in the discussion included Paulo Artaxo from the University of São Paulo (USP) and José Marengo from the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts on Natural Disasters (Cemaden).

Artaxo and Marengo both emphasized the varied impacts of El Niño across different regions of Brazil, ranging from increased rainfall and flooding in the South to reduced rainfall and increased drought risks in the North, Northeast, and Central-West regions. The Central-West region may experience a delayed rainy season and more heat waves.

Marengo pointed out that El Niño's effects extend beyond meteorology, influencing food production, transportation, energy supply, and the economy. Artaxo, a contributor to the IPCC's last three reports, stressed the need for faster adaptation to the already warming climate, which has seen an average temperature increase of nearly 2°C in Brazil.

He also called for the incorporation of social inequalities into climate adaptation strategies, as vulnerable populations, such as those in favelas, are disproportionately affected by extreme events due to factors like unequal access to healthcare, housing conditions, and cooling systems.