UV levels have sometimes reached 21 on a scale in recent weeks, usually rising to just 20. According to the World Health Organization, the UV index of 11 is considered “extreme,” and people are warned to avoid exposure. to the sun.
“The sun is burning. This sun is not normal,” said La Paza resident Segundina Mamani as people in the city at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level tried to cool off by eating shaved ice and sticking to the shadows.
The high Andean regions of South America can be affected by some of the most dangerous levels of UV radiation in the world, with numbers sometimes reaching record highs above 40 on the index. But the number between 11 and 17 is more typical.
“This is an issue that has literally caused cooking in La Paz,” said Juan Pablo Palma, a risk management official at the municipal government.
While world leaders met in Glasgow at the COP26 climate conference to warn that the climate light was flashing red, some Bolivian scientists said changing precipitation patterns exacerbated the effects of UV radiation by reducing cloud cover.
“We’ve confirmed what many say: the rainy season can bring the same amount of rain, but it’s shorter,” said Luis Blacutt, a researcher at the La Paz Atmospheric Physics Laboratory who has developed climate change models to study the trend.
While some rain this week has brought relief, the lab expects high levels of UV rays to last for at least another week.
“This means that the development of clouds is delayed, the introduction of ultraviolet radiation is more noticeable … Now that there are no clouds, we have the entry of a large amount of ultraviolet radiation that affects everyone,” Blacutt said.
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