Heat Waves in Brazil: Why They Fall Outside the Pattern | RainViewer Blog

TL;DR: A hot day is not a heat wave: the definition rests on temperatures persisting above the local average, not on a fixed number. A heat wave is defined by temperatures staying above the local historical average for several days, not by an absolute value The event is held in place by a stationary high-pressure system that blocks cloud formation Large cities feel a heat wave more intensely because of the urban heat island effect A heat wave rarely covers the whole of Brazil evenly, whatever national headlines suggest When it ends depends on when the high-pressure system finally moves, which