It’s a proven fact: the relationship between rising global temperatures and the number of climate-related disasters is directly proportional.

From 1991 through 2023, each rise of 0.1°C in the average global air temperature led to 360 new records of climate-related disasters in Brazil, including severe droughts, flooding and storms. The consequential rise in the ocean’s surface temperature led to 584 new cases. There was an average increase of 100 new extreme events per year in Brazil over the period and subsequent economic losses amounting to some R$ 5.6 billion ($970 million) for each 0.1°C rise in average global temperature. The process has accelerated this decade, with 4,077 disasters recorded per year on average. During the 1990s, this number was a mere 725, meaning there has been a 460% increase since then.

These unprecedented data are from the study entitled “2024 – The Hottest Year in History,” carried out by the Brazilian Ocean Literacy Alliance, a group of multiple organizations focused on work related to the Ocean Decade. The project is coordinated by the Sea of Science Program at Brazil’s São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and by UNESCO. It is funded by the Boticário Group Foundation and other NGOs. The study is the first volume in the series entitled “Brazil in Transformation: The impact of the Climate Crisis.” (…)