The hurricane that devastated the municipality of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu in Paraná last Friday was an eloquent sign of the climate change emergency. Wind speed ranged between 300 km/h and 330 km/h. On the Fujita scale, which reaches 5, the hurricane was classified as a Category 3. Only a few buildings remained standing in the city, which has a population of just over 14,000 people. Trees and poles were downed, vehicles were towed, and buildings were torn off. Even population assistance centers were destroyed. At least seven residents died and more than 700 others were injured.
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According to meteorologists, hot and humid conditions, as well as changes in wind direction and intensity, contributed to the formation of the tornado. Other tornadoes were also recorded in the municipalities of Guarapuava and Torvo, where wind speeds were less than 300 kilometers per hour. Although they attracted attention due to their intensity, deaths and level of destruction, these hurricanes that swept through the cities of Paraná cannot be considered isolated events.
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The southern region recorded 411 hurricanes between 1975 and 2018, or 9.6 hurricanes annually, according to a study conducted by researchers at Ponta Grossa State University. Only Paraná counted 89 tornadoes during that period, most with winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour, less deadly than Friday’s winds. But extreme events of this kind are becoming – and will become, meteorologists predict, more intense and more frequent.
Hurricanes have a characteristic that makes them different from other storms. There is no way to predict it or know its severity in advance, according to the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Warning (Simaden). Unlike with a severe storm, there is no way for municipalities to activate emergency plans to move residents from flood-prone or landslide-prone areas, provide assistance during floods, identify escape routes and provide shelter for victims.
The tragedy that occurred in Paraná, on the eve of the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties, which began on Monday in Belém, draws attention to the most acute and painful side of global warming. “Climate change has left reports and entered real life,” says Marcio Astrini, Executive Secretary of the Climate Observatory. “What is being discussed today is the level of climate change we want to deal with in the coming decades, and whether we will stabilize the climate at a level we can adapt to or whether we will live with something much worse.”
No one should be deceived. It remains necessary to reduce levels of greenhouse gas emissions. But this will not be enough. It will be necessary to invest in adapting to the reality of extreme climate events, such as devastating hurricanes and storms, devastating forest fires, severe droughts, and relentless floods or avalanches. In the current scenario, there is no possibility of reaching a truce.
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