Understand the causes of one of the worst climate tragedies in RS that leaves people dead and homeless

Storms in RS cause a lot of damage and deaths in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Photo: Civil Defense of RS, Disclosure)

The persistent rain that has hit Rio Grande do Sul since Monday (29) means that the state of Rio Grande do Sul is experiencing one of its worst climate tragedies in recent times. The government has already declared a public calamity and 32 people have already lost their lives, in addition to dozens of people missing amid the events.

Join NSC Total’s exclusive community of columnists

Meteorologists interviewed by g1 explain that the catastrophic events recorded in recent days are the result of at least three phenomena that affect the region:

• A trough, which is an intense current of wind, acted on the region, which made the weather unstable;
• This added to a corridor of moisture coming from the Amazon, which increased the strength of the rain;
• The scenario was further aggravated by a atmospheric blockage, a reflection of the heat wave, which made the center of the country dry and hot, leaving the rain concentrated at the extremes.

Forecast for SC is rain above 100 mm, with wind, electrical discharges and hail

As g1 explains, this weather condition began on April 26, when the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) issued a storm warning for the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The forecast is for more rain and the situation is likely to get worse.

VIDEO: Tornado knocks down and uproots trees in a city in western SC

— The scenario was unstable in the region a few days ago, but the sum of these factors caused the rain to intensify. What happened is that we had several cold fronts that were unable to dissipate to other regions because of the atmospheric blockage and, as a result, they began to act over the entire Rio Grande do Sul — said Fábio Luengo, meteorologist at Climatempo, to g1.

The meteorologist also explained that climate change impacts these occurrences because the heat from the Earth and the oceans affects the atmosphere and makes events more powerful. And the south of the country has conditions that favor storms at this time of year.

See photos of RS

Water in Sinimbu reached places it had never reached before (Photo: Personal archive)

In Arroio do Tigre, all the bridges giving access to the city were destroyed (Photo: Personal archive)

Dam broke between Cotiporã and Bento Gonçalves (Photo: Social networks, Reproduction)

Road between Farroupilha and Nova Roma turned into a waterfall (Photo: Social networks, Reproduction)

Storms in RS cause a lot of damage and deaths in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Photo: Civil Defense of RS, Disclosure)

To go backAdvance

Situation of Rio Grande do Sul

The rain, which has not let up since Monday, has already left 32 people dead, 60 missing and around 15,000 out of their homes, including homeless people, according to the latest Civil Defense bulletin.

The forecast shows that intense rains are expected to continue until Saturday (4), with accumulations that could reach up to 400 millimeters and could be added to the 300 mm of rain recorded in the last four days.

In addition to the intense rain, which leaves the ground soaked and poses the risk of landslides, g1 mentions that RS can also experience an atmospheric microexplosion, which occurs in storm scenarios. The strong air current that forms can cause winds exceeding 100 km/h.

Read too

Gauchos who live in SC report anguish with intense rains and flooding in RS: “Chaos”

“Maybe we are learning in the worst way possible, through pain”, says RS secretary on climate

Uruguay River overflows and ferry crossing between SC and RS is interrupted