As a low-pressure system moves over northern Argentina and Paraguay beginning this Thursday (Aug. 6), it may develop into an extratropical cyclone with explosive intensification, known as a bomb cyclone.

This is also expected to occur as the system moves through the region between Uruguay and the coast of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

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According to Micael Cecchini, an astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP), a low-pressure system forms when a mass of very cold air approaches a mass of warm air, and the temperature difference causes a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure between them.

In practice, this causes a cyclone. To be classified as a bomb cyclone, or explosive cyclogenesis-the scientific term for the phenomenon-the system must exhibit a drop in atmospheric pressure of at least 24 hPa (millibars) over a 24-hour period.

“Millibars are the unit of measurement used for atmospheric pressure,” explains Professor Cecchini, who receives support from the Serrapilheira Institute.

Because atmospheric pressure is lower and the temperature difference between the air masses is more pronounced when a bomb cyclone forms, storms develop along the boundary between them.

“The cold air mass pushes beneath the warm air mass because it is denser, causing the warm air to rise. This upward movement forms clouds and storms. If the temperature difference is large, this updraft will be more intense,” he explained.

Intensity

The result is more intense storms, with lightning and the possibility of hail. According to the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), if the forecast holds true, this is expected to occur from Thursday (6) through Saturday (8).

Satellite images indicate that the strongest winds will occur mainly over the Atlantic Ocean, where speeds may exceed 100 kilometers per hour.

Along the coasts of the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, wind gusts exceeding 60 km/h are forecast.

As the cyclone moves southeast toward the Atlantic Ocean and away from the coast, an associated cold front is likely to advance across Argentina and southern Brazil.

A coalition of environmental organizations will launch the Restaura Biomas project this week, an initiative aimed at expanding the restoration of native vegetation in Brazil. The announcement was made during the 6th Brazilian Conference on Ecological Restoration (SOBRE 2026), taking place in Brasília this week.

The initiative is led by União pela Restauração, a coalition created in 2021 during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). The project is implemented by the World Resources Institute (WRI) Brazil in partnership with Conservation International (CI-Brazil), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil, and WWF-Brazil.

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The project aims to help the country meet its commitment to restore 12 million hectares of native vegetation by 2030-a target established through international agreements and outlined in the National Policy for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Proveg).

The plan is to restore 600,000 hectares of native vegetation, promote sustainable practices across 1.2 million hectares, reduce the equivalent of 34 million metric tons of CO₂e emissions, and directly benefit 150,000 people, at least 35 percent of whom will be women.

To achieve these results, the plan includes strengthening public policies, expanding investments, structuring production chains, improving governance, and connecting existing regional initiatives.

According to WWF-Brazil’s Restoration Leader, Taruhim Quadros, the initiative takes into account the differences among Brazil’s biomes to increase the effectiveness of its actions.

“We look at Brazil’s six biomes: the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic Forest, the Pantanal, and the Pampa. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the entire country. Each biome and each region has its own ecological, social, and productive characteristics. Therefore, the project seeks to strengthen these conditions so that restoration can advance throughout Brazil, while also respecting and understanding these differences,” Quadros noted.

She explained that WWF-Brazil will be responsible for the financial aspects of restoration, including the development of business models, financial mechanisms, and studies to support investment decisions, as well as for bringing together governments, companies, investors, civil society organizations, and communities.

Mauricio Bianco, senior vice president of Conservation International (CI-Brazil), considers scaling up restoration essential to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss.

“Our strategy is structured around three complementary approaches: the pilot scale, which implements projects directly in the field and strengthens the restoration value chain in partnership with local organizations and communities; the market scale, which unlocks financial flows and expands investments in restoration; and the public policy scale, which supports the implementation of the Forest Code and the National Policy for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Proveg),” Bianco pointed out.

Julio Tymus, Forest Restoration Coordinator at TNC Brazil, emphasized that the project was developed through consultations with representatives from civil society, government, and the private sector.

“What sets the Restaura Biomas project apart is its integrative approach, which considers public policies that are already in place, those that need to be improved, and the direct, practical actions of those who are truly on the front lines of the restoration chain at different scales-whether implementing projects, financing them, or developing public policies and legal instruments,” Tymus added.

The expansion of data centers in Brazil requires planning, transparency, and regulations that ensure benefits for the country and reduce socio-environmental impacts. The conclusion was drawn by researchers during a debate held in Niterói, in Rio’s metropolitan region, on Monday (Jul. 27) as part of the 78th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science.

Professors Mauro Oliveira, from the Federal Institute of Ceará, and Dan Levy, from the Federal University of São Paulo, argued that the installation of large data processing centers must be accompanied by public policies and greater involvement from the scientific community.

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In Professor Oliveira’s view, Brazil runs the risk of repeating a historical pattern of exploiting natural resources without securing benefits for national development.

“The problem isn’t hosting data centers. The problem is accepting these investments without negotiation. Brazil needs to define what it wants to demand in return,” he said.

The discussion about data centers, he argues, is still limited to a few sectors and should involve universities, the government, and society. Professor Oliveira believes these projects pose challenges related to energy consumption, digital sovereignty, and control over technological infrastructure.

He cited the project to build a large AI data center in Ceará state. The facility, he noted, is expected to consume about 300 megawatts of power – a demand equivalent to the electricity supply capacity for millions of people.

“The world today cannot produce enough energy to meet the projected demand from AI data centers,” he stated.

In addition to energy, Professor Oliveira argued that Brazil should establish permanent mechanisms for monitoring, auditing, and ensuring transparency regarding these projects.

“The role of universities is to participate in this debate. We are not against data centers. We are against the absence of universities in the discussion about the conditions under which they are being implemented,” he said.

Impact

From an environmental law perspective, Professor Dan Levy argued that the impacts caused by data centers go beyond water and energy consumption. To his judgment, effects such as noise pollution, pressure on natural resources, territorial conflicts, social inequalities, and risks to vulnerable communities must also be considered.

“The digital transition and the ecological transition cannot be treated as separate processes. We must incorporate criteria of sustainability, transparency, and social participation,” he stated.

The communities directly affected need to participate in decisions related to the implementation of these projects and not just bear the brunt of their impacts, he went on to say.

He also linked the expansion of data centers to the concept of digital colonialism, whereby countries in the Global South provide natural resources – such as energy, water, and land – to sustain the technological infrastructure of large corporations in the Global North.

“We’re not against development. The issue is how this development is carried out and who bears its costs,” he concluded saying.