Climate Change Made Deadly Brazil Floods Twice As Likely, Study Finds
The torrential rain in Rio Grande do Sul state was more apt to happen because of global warming.
People walk along a flooded street in Eldorado do Sul, Brazil, on May 9.
Photographer: Anselmo Cunha/AFP/Getty ImagesGreenhouse gases produced by human activity made the recent deadly flooding in Brazil twice as likely as it would have been in the preindustrial era, according to a rapid analysis of the event by World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international research initiative.
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, is in a rainy, subtropical climate zone. But the precipitation of up to 543 millimeters (21 inches) that fell in some areas between April 26 and May 5 was almost unprecedented, WWA researchers say. Flooding affected more than 90% of the state, leaving at least 172 people dead.