Brazil faced seven major heatwaves alongside widespread, severe drought over the course of 2025, according to the newly released “State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025” report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The United Nations weather agency’s comprehensive study sounds the alarm on the escalating frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena gripping the region.
Data compiled by Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) and highlighted in the WMO report reveals that recurrent heatwaves blanketed multiple regions of the country throughout last year.
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Extended Summer Heat: In states like Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro, temperatures consistently breached the 40°C threshold well into early March, forcing numerous municipalities to delay the resumption of the school year following local holidays.
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Peak Extremes: On February 16, Rio de Janeiro reached a staggering 44°C. The following day, Florianópolis, Campo Grande, and São Paulo all exceeded 37°C.
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A 64-Year Record Broken: São Paulo—the most populous metropolitan area in Latin America—shattered historical climate data late in the year by hitting 37.2°C, marking its highest temperature since systematic tracking began 64 years ago.
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Beyond the unprecedented heat, the first half of the year was defined by acute precipitation deficits. A sweeping drought extended across northern and northeastern Brazil, deeply impacting major agricultural hubs in states such as São Paulo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso do Sul.
The WMO identified localized pockets of extreme-to-moderate drought slicing through the southern Amazon, the Northeast, the Southeast, and the massive Paraná and São Francisco river basins.
WMO Report Impact Assessment: “Rivers dropped to critically low levels, placing urban water supplies under severe strain. Indigenous and rural communities bore the brunt of the crisis, facing restricted access to safe drinking water and widespread crop failures.”
The southern and western fringes of the Amazon basin received significantly less rainfall than historical baselines. The WMO observed a highly volatile, shifting climate footprint in the rainforest, characterized by prolonged dry seasons, more aggressive wet-season deluges, and an overall surge in drought frequency across eastern and southern sections of the Amazon.
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States like Amazonas, Acre, and Rondônia recorded abnormally parched conditions early in the year.
Crucially, the UN agency linked these persistent drought conditions across northern Brazil to an elevated risk of wildfires, particularly along the country’s transcontinental borders with Bolivia, Venezuela, and Guyana—posing an immediate threat to local ecosystems, biodiversity, and frontier settlements.
