Explaining Brazil #95: Brazil’s climate crisis has already begun

Heavy rains and other extreme weather events have become the norm in Brazil, with much of the blame lying with climate change and poor urban planning

By TBR Newsroom

Feb 12, 2020 15:24 2 min read (Updated: May 27, 2021 15:30)

In many Brazilian urban centers, floods and landslides have become commonplace. While poor urban planning is the main culprit—as most big cities in the country have their rivers channeled through pipes—climate change has made things worse. Extreme weather has become the new normal, and Brazil could soon have to deal with thousands (if not millions) of climate refugees.

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On this episode:

Claudio Angelo is a coordinator at the Brazilian Climate Observatory. He wrote the book “A Espiral da Morte – como a humanidade alterou a máquina do clima” (or “Death Spiral: How Humanity Altered the Weather”), and previously worked as Science editor for newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

Background reading:

Reporter Natália Scalzaretto showed how poor urban planning plays a role in climate-related events.
In our October 31, 2018 Daily Briefing, we showed the threat to Brazilian cities posed by rising ocean levels.
How climate issues are pushing food prices up in Brazil.
Data editor Marcelo Soares shows that Brazilian cities are getting hotter and hotter.
Brazil’s Institute of Geography and Statistics seeks funds to manage climate change and natural disasters.
Why indigenous lands are pivotal against climate change.
Remember recent environmental disasters in Brazil.

Explaining Brazil is made by:

Gustavo Ribeiro, editor in chief of The Brazilian Report. He has extensive experience covering Brazilian politics. His work has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets, including Veja, Época, Folha de S.Paulo, Médiapart, and Radio France Internationale.
Euan Marshall, editing. Euan is a journalist and translator who has lived in São Paulo, Brazil since 2011. Specializing in Brazilian soccer, politics and the connection between the two, his work has been published in The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, The Independent, among others.

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