This paper examines the impacts of recurrent high-intensity rains (HIRs) on the public transportation system of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I use a novel dataset composed of the city buses’ GPS information and public transport supply and demand data. I find that: 1) HIRs reduce peak hours bus average speeds by 1.73% to 8.94%, and 2) there is a slight increase in demand for the public transportation system when the city undergoes a highly disruptive HIR. The estimated yearly wage opportunity cost of HIR-derived slowdowns is 678.00 million reais, which is equivalent to 0.20% of the GDP of Rio and 3.57% of its total yearly traffic-derived wage opportunity cost. 

Covered by iNFRA, Veja Rio, and Diário do Rio

We study the effects of high-intensity rains (HIR) on the day of birth on newborn health in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We merge geodata from rainfall stations with administrative birth certificate records, creating a uniquely rich dataset covering the universe of births and HIR in Rio de Janeiro from 2006-2019. We find that: 1) HIRs increase the likelihood of "low" and "very low" Apgar scores at the 5-minute mark by, at most, 29% and 40%, respectively; 2) the negative impact of HIR on Apgar scores is concentrated in health units affiliated with the SUS (Unified Health System), and 3) these adverse health effects are concentrated in units close to flood points.