In Rio de Janeiro, the First Week of February Brought More Rain Than Expected for the Month. Who Suffers From Climate Change? The Favelas! #VoicesFromSocialMedia

Landslide in the favela of Santo Amaro in Catete caused by the heavy rain. Photo Pedro Ivo/Agência O Dia

Environmental racism shaped the building of our cities. It’s no surprise who suffers the consequences.

In the first week of February, between Sunday, February 5, and Saturday, February 11, and in particular on Tuesday, February 7, Rio de Janeiro suffered a series of extreme weather events which caused chaos, flooding, landslides, and deaths. After the heavy rains, favela organizers and climate activists denounced the effects of climate change in Brazil falling disproportionally on favelas and urban peripheries. In the Rio de Janeiro context, climate change manifests the grave environmental racism that marks the city, where low-income, majority Black communities are the most affected. 

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This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel

Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on water issues and the LGBTQIAP+ population in Rio’s favelas and in the Baixada Fluminense for RioOnWatch.