Brazil invaded by venomous yellow SCORPIONS as climate change pushes them into ...

I live in São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, home to some 12 million people – 20 million if you count the outskirts, which have been sprawling for three decades.

That makes it a good place to observe the phenomenon I research: complex social problems. 

In academia, this concept refers to problems like corruption, crime and traffic – problems that, in practice, cannot be solved. They must simply be mitigated or managed.

São Paulo is a dense city, with scarce green space and little to no animal life – no squirrels, no raccoons, not even a lot of birds. So I was astonished when, in January, I learned that scorpions had infested my neighborhood.

It turns out, people across the city and São Paulo state were having the same problem with these dangerous, venomous bugs. Statewide, scorpion stings have increased threefold over the last two decades.

Four kinds of scorpion live across Brazil, but historically only in rural areas. São Paulo residents are urbanites. We have conquered nature – or so we thought.

Scorpions used to be a rural problem in Brazil, the researcher explains. Now, residents of São Paulo and other urban areas are dealing with an infestation of these poisonous insects

Scorpions used to be a rural problem in Brazil, the researcher explains. Now, residents of São Paulo and other urban areas are dealing with an infestation of these poisonous insects

Brazil’s urban scorpions

Brazil’s scorpion infestation is the perfect example of how unpredictable modern life has become. 

It is a hallmark of what those of us in the complex problems field call a “VUCA” world – a world that’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

Some 2.5 billion people worldwide, from Mexico to Russia, live with scorpions, which generally prefer hot and dry habitats.

But Brazil’s cities also provide an excellent habitat for scorpions, experts say. They offer shelter in sewage networks, plenty of water and food in the garbage that goes uncollected, and no natural predators.

Scorpions, like the cockroaches they feast on, are an incredibly adaptable species. 

As the weather in Brazil gets hotter due to climate change, scorpions are spreading across the country – including into its colder southern states that rarely, if ever, had reports of scorpions prior to this millennium.

The number of people stung by scorpions across Brazil has risen from 12,000 in 2000 to 140,000 last year, according to the health ministry.

Most scorpion stings are extremely painful but not fatal. For children, however, they are dangerous and require urgent medical attention. 

São Paulo is Brazil’s biggest city, with 12.2 million residents. It is a dense city, with scarce green space and little to no animal life – no squirrels, no raccoons, not even a lot of birds. But, satewide, scorpion stings have increased threefold over the last two decades

São Paulo is Brazil’s biggest city, with 12.2 million residents. It is a dense city, with scarce green space and little to no animal life – no squirrels, no raccoons, not even a lot of birds. But, satewide, scorpion stings have increased threefold over the last two decades

2018 - 4TH HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD 

NASA has revealed that 2018 was officially the fourth hottest year on record.

Figures reveal 2018 was 1.5°F (0.83°C) warmer than the average temperature measured between 1951 and 1980.

It came in fourth hottest since records began in the 1880s, falling behind only 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space

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