Sweltering heat wave in Brazil will last until Wednesday (20), meteorologist tells CNN

The suffocating heat wave that hit Brazil in recent days is expected to continue heating the country until next Wednesday (20), the day autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere.

In an interview with CNN This Sunday (17), meteorologist Guilherme Borges, from Climatempo, stated that the peak of the heat wave was this weekend. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, the temperature was close to 40ºC and the thermal sensation reached 60.1ºC, the highest in the historical series measured by Alerta Rio.

“Temperatures should ease up from Wednesday onwards, but it is important to highlight that it will be a very warm start to autumn”, says Borges.

The meteorologist adds that, in the coming days, there may be a slight increase in rain, but far from the “March water” pattern. “This mass of hot air that acts with us should lose a little intensity, so the track becomes freer to form those instabilities, which is the combination of heat and humidity that we experience throughout the day. We may have rain showers returning, but it will be the end of March and the beginning of autumn with a lot of heat and little rain.”

According to Borges, the South region has already started to see a slight decrease in temperatures. “On Friday [15] A slightly more intensified cold front managed to enter and helped push this hot air mass towards the Southeast.”

Hot weekend

Borges stated that, on Saturday (16), the city of São Paulo recorded a temperature of 34.7 degrees. “It’s the highest temperature in 81 years of measurement,” he says.

“These temperatures we are seeing now are much higher than expected. Rio de Janeiro reached 38 degrees yesterday; It’s eight degrees above average,” he added.

Still this Sunday, the meteorologist warns that thermometers could reach 40 degrees in Rio. “The capital of São Paulo could have a record again, reaching 35 degrees.”

See images from the hot Saturday in Brazil