RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Cuiabá, the capital city of Mato Grosso state, broke two historical heat records in a three-hour interval on Wednesday, September 30th. At 2 PM the capital registered 43.7°C (112°F). At 5 PM the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) thermometers set a new heat record since December 1910, when official measurements began.
The temperature is measured in the shade, inside a wooden shelter. According to the INMET, temperatures reach 50°C (122°F)on street thermometers.
The institute reported that by Sunday, October 4th, temperatures should range between 40°C and 43°C. The capital had been experiencing a record-breaking September because of the extreme heat. Temperatures equaled or exceeded 40°C on 19 of the month’s 29 days.
On seven days in September, the temperature exceeded 42°C in Cuiabá.
Climatologist and PhD in meteorology at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) Rodrigo Marques explains the reason for this extreme heat. “We have, mid-level in the troposphere, an anticyclone that is blowing dry wind from top to bottom. As this wind descends, it compresses and warms up even more,” he says.
Cuiabá remains with no forecast for regular rainfall until October 15th. According to the INMET, fast and isolated rainfall may occur.
Patch burns
In addition to the excessive heat, the capital’s residents are suffering from the smoke from the patch burning coming from the Pantanal and the dry weather. In Cuiabá, relative air humidity should range between ten and 25 percent in the coming days. Since early last month, the days have dawned with the sky covered by smoke.
Three months before ending, 2020 is now the year with the highest number of fire outbreaks in the Pantanal: between January 1st and September 30th, there were 18,259 outbreaks. Before that, the highest number had been recorded throughout 2005: 12,536. The increase is of approximately 46 percent.