News & Publications
June 4, 2024 |
How much of Brazil’s grain production washed away?
Unprecedented rains affected Rio Grande do Sul (RS), the southernmost state in Brazil, in April and May, and have already caused losses in 96% of the municipalities in the state (475 out of 497). According to state government data, as of June 3, nearly 2.4 million people were affected by floods and landslides, almost 600,000 were displaced, and 172 had died.
Figure 1 shows historical precipitation in Santa Maria, a city located in the central part of Rio Grande do Sul, a region highly affected by floods and an important agricultural producing area. Each boxplot represents monthly cumulative precipitation in Santa Maria since 2000. Each part of the boxplot indicates precipitation quantiles for each month during 2000-‘24 (including minimum, 25%, 50%, 75%, and maximum).
