Rio de Janeiro City Hall presents actions for possible intensification of El Niño.

Given the possibility of an intensification of El Niño and its potential effects on increased temperatures and rainfall, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere, presented, this Monday (July 20th), the city's prevention, monitoring, and rapid response structure to address any impacts of the climatic phenomenon. The projections presented indicate an 81% probability of a very strong El Niño between October, November, and December, with the possibility of its effects extending into the summer.

More than 50 municipal bodies and agencies work in an integrated manner, supported by real-time monitoring systems, approximately 50 operational protocols, and a permanent set of investments in infrastructure, flood prevention, slope containment, expansion of green areas, and addressing extreme heat.

The press conference, held at the Operations and Resilience Center (COR), included the participation of the municipal departments of Environment, Infrastructure, Conservation, Health, Comlurb (municipal cleaning company), and Civil Defense.

"We are anticipating the preparations that the city already makes every year to deal with the summer, because this is one of the effects of this super El Niño. We are a city with a tropical, humid climate, with intense rainfall and intense heat, and we cannot prevent El Niño from affecting Rio's climate. But we have major infrastructure projects, such as the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program) in Jardim Maravilha, PAC in Acari, Maré, Rocinha, and the PAC in Realengo, with the construction of two flood control basins, one already underway and another in the expansion project phase. These are more sensitive areas, more subject to extreme events and risks next summer. All actions are taken precisely to minimize the impacts of this phenomenon, with prevention strategies, permanent and continuous training of Civil Defense, integration of the agencies and the sub-prefectures involved," said the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere.

Rio: a city that prepares before an emergency.

The city's response capacity relies on the Operations and Resilience Center (COR-Rio), which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with meteorological monitoring. The city has its own radar systems, rain gauges, weather stations, and systems for monitoring rainfall, lightning, and landslide risks.

A new breakthrough occurred in 2024 with the creation of the Heat Protocol, which established its own methodology for monitoring the impacts of high temperatures and defining progressive levels of mobilization by the City Hall. The system combines meteorological information and health indicators to guide public authorities' decisions and primarily protect the most vulnerable populations. All of this is managed by the Committee for the Development of Protocols for Coping with Extreme Heat.

Rio has initiatives to combat the heat.

The planning combines climate information and health data to guide public policy decisions, with special attention to the most vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and people experiencing homelessness.

The strategy, internationally recognized with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge award, establishes response levels according to the intensity and duration of high temperatures, allowing the municipal network to adopt preventive, assistance, and intersectoral measures. These levels are monitored by Alerta Rio, through a dashboard and an early warning system developed by the Center for Epidemiological Intelligence (CIE) of the Municipal Health Secretariat (SMS).

There are five risk levels (Heat 1 to Heat 5), defined by the heat index, which combines temperature and relative humidity, and by the duration of these conditions. The classification also considers forecast models for the following three days, updated every four hours.

With each change in the alert level, the Rio Operations Center informs the public through official channels. Meteorological monitoring is carried out in an integrated manner by the COR and the SMS, which also monitors epidemiological and healthcare indicators related to the impacts of the heat.

Among the planned actions are strengthening risk communication, educating the public, and preparing health units with specific training for professionals in emergency and urgent care units and primary care. The protocol also strengthens the surveillance of arboviruses through continuous case monitoring.

The strategy includes cooling stations and permanent climate adaptation actions. Click here for the actions of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall according to heat levels: https://cor.rio/niveis-de-calor/ 

The environmental actions of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall also help to mitigate the heat. The Refloresta Rio program has already planted more than 10,8 million seedlings, in addition to the reforestation task force and the Planta+Rio program, which aims to plant more than 200 seedlings by 2028, requested by the population through the 1746 hotline.

Currently, 41% of the city's territory is protected by Conservation Units. Recently, two units were created, marking the beginning of the implementation of the Blue Corridor: the Jacarepaguá Forest Wildlife Refuge (REVIS) and the Jacarepaguá Lagoons Environmental Protection Area (APA).

Two other programs from the Secretariat of Environment and Climate (SMAC) contribute to the dry and rainy seasons. The Guardians of the Rivers program selects community residents who help care for the rivers, while the Guardians of the Forests program seeks female community leaders for environmental education.

Parks: continuous refreshment areas

In recent years, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall has invested in the creation of large urban parks, which expand the city's vegetation cover and offer thermal comfort to residents. These initiatives are taking place throughout the city, but especially in the North and West Zones, the hottest areas of the city.

In the North Zone, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall inaugurated the Pavuna Carioca Park. Located near the Chapadão community, a former vacant lot was transformed into a wooded area. The Piedade Park occupies the former campus of Gama Filho University, offering a wooded space with a water park and artificial waterfall, leisure areas, and other amenities. The North Zone also includes the Madureira Mestre Monarco Park. Inaugurated in 2012, the park spans the neighborhoods of Madureira, Turiaçu, Rocha Miranda, Honório Gurgel, and Guadalupe.

In the West Zone, in Realengo, the Susana Naspolini Park was inaugurated, a vast green area for the population, with new trees and maintenance of existing ones. In Inhoaíba, the first phase of the West Park was inaugurated. The Deodoro Park also offers leisure options in a large urban green area. And, in Barra da Tijuca, the Rita Lee Park was inaugurated, which has a wooded area among its attractions.

Future Parks

The city government has already announced negotiations for the creation of new urban parks. Four projects are already underway: the expansion of Realengo Park; the second phase of Oeste Park; Terra Prometida Park, in Santa Cruz, which redevelops the area previously occupied by Cidade da Criança; and the Maré Linear Park.

The City Hall will also build five new parks in the future: Tanque Park; Taquara Fazenda Baronesa Park; Guadalupe Park; Jardim do Amanhã Park (Cidade de Deus); and Saber Park (Parada de Lucas/Cordovil).

The city has protocols in place for dealing with rainfall.

Rio already has routine and preventative measures in place for rainy periods. The Civil Defense alert system has 165 sirens installed in 103 communities and specific protocols for the preventative closure of roads in situations of rain, wind, or rough seas.

The prevention structure also includes three flood control reservoirs in the Greater Tijuca region and the diversion of the Joana River, in addition to the permanent monitoring of at-risk areas. To reduce the impacts of possible heavy rainfall events, the City Hall maintains a series of preventive actions throughout the city.

The Civil Defense has 225 support points and maintains permanent actions of inspection, training and education of the population in at-risk areas. Since 2014, 869 evacuation drills have been carried out in communities.

The city also has Cell Broadcast, a technology that allows geolocated emergency alerts to be sent directly to cell phones located in at-risk areas.

In urban infrastructure, actions include cleaning and unclogging the drainage network, dredging rivers and canals, slope maintenance, tree pruning, and implementing new systems to increase water runoff capacity.

In 2026, Operation Clean Drain had already cleaned more than 28,7 storm drains and 22,4 manhole covers. More than 51 structures were cleaned by teams from the Secretariat of Conservation and Public Services (Seconserva). The river and canal cleaning work removed approximately 257 tons of waste and benefited about 70 kilometers of waterways.

Seconserva more than doubled its investment in flood control measures, maintenance of the storm drain system, and preventive operations. Investments increased from R$30 million in 2025 to R$70 million throughout 2026.

Another noteworthy operation is the "Moto Abre Ralo" (Motorcycle Drain Opener) operation, launched in January, to act in the prevention and emergency response to flooding. The motorcycles are equipped with specific tools for unclogging drains and sewers. More than 8,8 services have already been provided in 145 neighborhoods of the city, with more than 30 kilometers traveled by the vehicles and more than 9,6 kilograms of waste removed.

The city government has also been installing large drains in strategic locations throughout the city, expanding drainage capacity in areas historically affected by flooding.

Structural works enhance the city's protection.

The preparation of the river also involves structural works aimed at preventing floods, inundations and landslides.

Among the planned interventions are the Realengo PAC, which includes a reservoir with a capacity of 20 million liters of water and new drainage works; the Acari PAC, with interventions along 3,8 kilometers of the river; and the works in Jardim Maravilha, with the construction of dikes and reservoirs capable of storing 231 million liters of water. Also planned is the implementation of the Maracanã River hydraulic tunnel, a new stage in the flood control system for Greater Tijuca.

In the area of ​​slope containment, the city has ongoing projects. The PAC Encostas (Slope Stabilization Program) represents an investment of R$ 258 million and should improve the safety of approximately 60 people in at-risk areas.

The "Bairro Maravilha" (Wonderful Neighborhood) program is an urban redevelopment initiative that, since 2021, has benefited more than 75 locations in the North and West zones, with over 200km of urbanized roads. Currently, 28 projects are underway. More than R$1,1 billion has already been invested in these projects.

In partnership with the Federal Government, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall will carry out three major redevelopment projects in three large communities in Rio: Maré, Rocinha, and Complexo do Alemão. The PAC Periferia Viva program will define an action plan, after dialogue with residents, leaders, and local institutions, focused on improving the infrastructure and urban space of each of the communities.

What is El Niño?

A climatic phenomenon characterized by the atypical warming of the waters of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, which influences temperature and rainfall patterns in different parts of the planet. In Rio, the possible effects include periods of above-average temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns, driven by rainfall in the South and droughts in the North and Northeast of the country.

Category:

• Comlurb
• Conservation and Public Services
• COR
• Civil defense
• Infrastructure
• Environment and Climate
• News
• Health Insurance

20 July 2026

Appointments: Operation center Comlurb conservation civil defense El niño Infrastructure environment Climate changes News health Summer