Heat, humidity and hard choices: Lessons from Belém’s climate risk analysis (opens in new tab)

Belém, the capital of the state of Pará in northern Brazil, is an unlikely place to talk about heat as a crisis. The city sits at the edge of the Amazon rainforest, surrounded by rivers, parks, and some of the richest biodiversity on the planet. Green spaces like the Utinga State Park, the Emílio Goeldi Zoobotanical Park, and Mangal das Garças offer genuine pockets of shade and microclimate regulation. The Ver-o-Peso market opens onto the Guajará Bay. Water is everywhere.