Brazil is melting: Record heat index of 62.3 degrees scorches Rio de Janeiro

[Judi Lynn]

A heat wave stifling Brazil has set new records, with Rio de Janeiro’s heat index hitting a whopping 62.3 degrees Celsius.

by AFP
18-03-2024 12:35



Aerial view of people enjoying Recreio dos Bandeirantes beach amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image: TERCIO TEIXEIRA / AFP

A heat wave stifling Brazil set new records on Sunday, with Rio de Janeiro’s heat index hitting 62.3 degrees Celsius, the highest in a decade, weather authorities said.

The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.

The actual maximum temperature in the city was 42 degrees Celsius, the Alerta Rio weather system said.

The 62.3 degree Celsius record was notched in western Rio at 09:55 local time, and was the “highest mark” since Alerta Rio began keeping such records in 2014.

The iconic Ipanema and Copacabana beaches were packed with people as authorities published tips on coping with the heat.

More:
https://www.thesouthafrican.62/world-news/brazil-is-melting-record-heat-index-of-62-3-degrees-scorches-rio-de-janeiro/


62.3 degrees C. = 144.14 F (Google)

The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.

[underpants]

1. 144????

Wow.

[2naSalit]

3. Right?

I have experienced +120F and that is stifling, like hard to breathe! In the shade.

Damn. I think that's the hottest ever. Where has it ever been recorded before?

[Think. Again.]

2. Just the beginning.

[2naSalit]

4. I'm really worried about wildfires this summer...

I am sure we will have serious heat again, and smoke.

[FalloutShelter]

5. The number to be watched in these increasingly hot temperatures is the humidity-

This from Popular Science in 2021:

Perspiration can feel gross, but it’s an incredibly effective cooling system because water takes a lot of energy to heat up. You produce water on your skin, and as those droplets evaporate they take some of your body heat with them. This is why “a dry heat” is more pleasant than humid heat: dry air can absorb a lot of moisture, making it easier for sweat to evaporate. Even at a heat index of well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, your body can stay around 98.6 degrees thanks to perspiration.

But there’s a point at which sweat stops working: once the wet bulb temperature passes 95 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s because, in order to maintain a normal internal temperature, your skin has to stay at 95 degrees or below. Since sweating is your skin’s mechanism for shedding heat, and wet bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that a wet surface can achieve through evaporation (read: that sweaty skin can reach), wet bulb temperatures past 95 degrees are extremely dangerous. Sustained skin temperatures above 98 degrees are considered fatal.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/wet-bulb-globe-temperature/

Aside: If you have read Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Ministry for the Future, - this will terrify you.

[willamette]

6. I have read it. It does terrify me.