A study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and reported in an article published in Nature Communications shows that the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna biome, is experiencing the worst drought for at least 700 years. Here’s why.
The effects of global warming have been particularly intense in the central region of the country, where the rise in temperatures is about 1 °C higher than the 1.5 °C global average. This has produced hydrological disruptions because the temperature near the surface is so high that a significant proportion of any rain that falls evaporates before it can penetrate the soil, leading to changes in the pattern of rainfall, with fewer but extremely heavy rainstorms and less aquifer recharging. The drought could dry up the tributaries of the São Francisco, the largest river in the basin of the same name that spans seven Brazilian states.