AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro - the crowds, the colors, the rhythms - hot, hot, hot, literally. As Julia Carneiro reports, temperatures have topped 111 degrees in some areas of the Brazilian megalopolis.
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JULIA CARNEIRO, BYLINE: Carnival is a time to take to the streets, with parades breaking out all over Rio even before the official party starts. This one's for kids - little pirates, clowns, mermaids and ballerinas with their parents, everyone drenched in sweat.
PEDRO FERNANDES: Right now, I feel like dying of heat. It's very hot.
CARNEIRO: Pedro Fernandes has his 1-year-old son on his lap.
FERNANDES: I am a very worried parent, at least since he joined us.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
CARNEIRO: It's so hot that Rio's water company started setting up stations at Carnival parades, distributing ice-cold water. Seventeen cities across the state have been on extreme heat alert. Public schools have reduced class hours, and Mayor Eduardo Paes ordered rehydration breaks for city workers and set up water stations and air conditioning for the public.
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EDUARDO PAES: (Non-English language spoken).
CARNEIRO: But the Carnival-loving mayor wouldn't go as far as to cancel festivities. "We're not going to stop the street parades," he says, "but drink water, hydrate, take precautions."
EMILIO LA ROVERE: I am a citizen of Rio. I was born 70 years ago, and I can't recall such a strong heat wave.
CARNEIRO: Emilio La Rovere coordinates the Center for Integrated Studies on Climate Change and the Environment at Rio's Federal University, but while he worries about revelers' health...
ROVERE: It's an opportunity for growing awareness of the climate change problems.
CARNEIRO: This time of the year, he says, masses of hot air block the arrival of cold air from the South Pole, but global warming is aggravating this effect. The changing weather patterns are making carnival organizers react, too.
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UNIDOS DA PONTE: (Singing in non-English language).
CARNEIRO: Unidas da Ponte, one of Rio's many so-called Samba schools or clubs, made its theme song about the Anthropocene, the era marked by man's impact on the Earth. It sounds cheerful but speaks of deforestation of life and extinction. Other carnival groups here are doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprint. Some are abolishing the use of diesel-powered trucks.
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CARNEIRO: Musicians from this street parade, called Vagalume Verde or Green Glow-Worm, gather to plant trees every year after Carnival to offset carbon emissions.
RODRIGO REZENDE: (Non-English language spoken).
CARNEIRO: "Carnival is a force of nature in Rio," says Rodrigo Rezende, president of the Carnival League behind these initiatives. "You can't stop it, and you can't stop people from taking part. So we have to find ways to protect them and the environment."
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CARNEIRO: Back to the kids' block. People are sticky with sweat but smiling. To cope with the heat, reveler Livian das Valias has a trick up her sleeve.
LIVIAN DAS VALIAS: Oh, my trick for Carnival in Rio is to put some ice and put here. Ooh.
CARNEIRO: In your armpit?
DAS VALIAS: Yeah, that's it. That's the best trick ever.
CARNEIRO: Ice under your armpits - maybe I'll try it.
For NPR News, I'm Julia Carneiro in Rio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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