Brazil: Snow?

Does it snow in Brazil? Yes, as much as it is scorching hot in Moscow. National stereotypes mean nothing these days with sky-rocketing temperatures in Russia and negative, snow-bound, freezing scenes in…sunny Brazil?

Photo: Brazil: Snow?

Brazil: Snow?

Not so sunny. Brazil spans the equator and the southern hemisphere and right now it is the depth of winter in the southern states. This week, at least 33 cities in the south of Brazil suffered snowstorms (picture). In the photo, the city of Urubici, in the mountains of the Southern state of Santa Catarina.

The Brazilian Forecasting Center for Weather and Climatic Studies (CPTEC) has predicted that this heavy snowfall in southern Brazil will continue at least until the end of the week. The snowfall started at the beginning of the week in the southern Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

The minimum temperature today was minus 3.6 Celsius in Cambará do Sul (Santa Catarina) and minus 3C in Bom Jesus, Rio Grande do Sul. In Urubici, the local authorities had to provide shelters for the homeless. Rio Grande do Sul’s first snowfall occurred on Monday night.

This is not special in Southern Brazil, where there is a large German-speaking population (among others) and where many mountain ranges appear more like Swiss cantons, while many people in this region speak German as a first language and Portuguese as the second language.

Paulo BERNARDO

Translated for Portuguese version