Aug 30, 2024
Hot and Dry Conditions to Persist in Central Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
After a brief cooler period, the Brazilian National Weather Service (Inmet) is forecasting a return of hot and continued dry weather for the majority of central Brazil. The month of August will finish with temperatures of 40°C (104°F) or higher in west-central and northern Brazil with relative humidity of 12% to 20%.
The high temperatures are expected to persist at least through the first half of September. The only rainfall expected for the next seven days is in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul where the forecast is calling for light and scattered showers.
In many areas of central Brazil, it has not rained for more than four months with record high temperatures. The parched conditions have resulted in record numbers of wildfires, especially in the state of Sao Paulo. The Union of Sugarcane Industries (Unica) reported that more than 80,000 hectares (197,600 acres) of sugarcane have been impacted by wildfires which represent approximately 2% of the sugarcane acreage in the state.
Fires have also occurred in numerous other states including Mato Grosso. In the municipality of Nova Mutum in south-central Mato Grosso, recently strong winds have resulted in fallen electrical lines sparking fires in the dry grass and the fodder left in harvested corn fields being prepared for soybean planting. Farmers reported that fertilizers and agricultural limestone that had already been applied are now lost. These losses are coming at an inopportune time when commodity prices are at multiyear lows and farmers can ill afford additional costs.
Approximately 4% of the first-corn crop has been planted in southern Brazil with most of the planting occurring in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Farmers in many areas of Brazil are allowed to plant their 2024/25 soybean crop starting September 1st, or whenever they feel conditions are suitable.