Heavy rain, gusts of wind and flooding: Brazil has been experiencing turbulent weather for weeks. The south of the country, in particular, has seen unusually heavy rainfall.

Whilst winter is drawing nearer here, parts of Brazil are experiencing a particularly wet spring. Even as early as September and October, there have been repeated outbreaks of violent thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, gusts of wind and hail.

November is continuing in much the same vein: on Thursday, following heavy rainfall in the metropolis of São Paulo, numerous streets were under water. Fallen trees and flooding caused disruption to traffic.

Furthermore, the El Niño climate phenomenon is exacerbating extreme weather conditions: it is driving the inflow of moist air into southern Brazil, thereby fuelling the development of severe thunderstorms.

The situation is quite different in the north and north-east of the country. There has recently been comparatively little rain in those regions. In some areas, rainfall in the first few days of November did not even reach 10 litres mm.