This Thursday, September 5, more than a thousand Brazilian municipalities are on alert, due to very low humidity, sometimes comparable to that of deserts like the Sahara, at a time when the country is facing a historic drought and a series of fires.
The areas affected by this historic drought are mainly concentrated in the central region of Brazilespecially in Brasilia, and in the southeast, in the highly populated states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. These have a humidity level of less than 12%, below the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization (OMS), according to data published by the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet).
« Lung diseases »
For this public body, it is a situation “ very dangerous “, because it represents “ a high risk of forest fires “, but also ” for health “, exposing residents in particular to ” lung diseases » or « headache “. In several dozen municipalities, the humidity level has fallen below the 10% threshold, even reaching 7%. A level ” also low ” than in the Sahara, Ana Paula Cunha, a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring Natural Disasters (Cemaden), told AFP.
Also readBrazil: Fires ravage the state of São Paulo, criminal investigation favored
- RFI
