Brazilian Government reclassifies Pantanal municipalities as dry subhumid climate
“The Pantanal, Brazil, officially enters the path of aridity, Government classification indicates”
Forensic Headline Assessment: The journalistic metaphor 'in the path of aridity' is removed to strictly align with the technical terminology used by the ministry.
The municipalities of Corumbá and Ladário, located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul and belonging to the Pantanal biome, were formally reclassified as having a dry subhumid climate. The measure was adopted by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change within the framework of the Brazilian Action Plan to Combat Desertification.
The reclassification is based on the Aridity Index (AI), a parameter that evaluates the relationship between accumulated precipitation in an area and the evapotranspirative demand of the atmosphere on plants and soil. Previously, these localities held a humid climate category.
Experts consulted pointed out that alterations in the region's rainfall regimes are linked to larger climate dynamics, such as the intensification of the South Atlantic anticyclone and the decrease in precipitation in the neighboring Cerrado biome, whose basins feed the Pantanal's water system.
Meanwhile, the Secretariat of Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of Mato Grosso do Sul clarified that, while the new climate category is recognized and susceptibility to aridity is monitored, this does not imply that the municipalities are in a process of consummated desertification.
- Corumbá and Ladário went from a humid to a dry subhumid climate.
- The modification is part of the Brazilian Action Plan to Combat Desertification.
- The Aridity Index measures precipitation in contrast to atmospheric water demand.
- State authorities clarified that the reclassification does not equate to desertification.
Corroborates: The Pantanal, Brazil, officially enters the path of aridity, Government classification indicates