Chile Forum

yea, you can not generalize too much about the climate. A few hundred kilometers, or even a valley one way or the other, and you have completely different climates (and everything else).

Cold weather kills thousands of cattle and over 100 people
The polar wave that has trapped the Southern Cone of South America has caused an estimated one hundred deaths and killed thousands of cattle, according to the latest reports on Monday from Argentina, south of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia.
Deaths were caused by hypothermia or gas intoxication from defective burners and heaters.
In the south of Brazil and central Paraguay thousands of cattle have been reported dead, while in the south of Chile an agriculture emergency was declared and in Buenos Aires at the peak of the winter season, tens of regional flights had to be cancelled because of the extreme weather conditions leaving thousands stranded in the Argentine capital.
In Argentina the number of dead from hypothermia reached twelve plus another 33 intoxicated with carbon monoxide.
Bolivia reported 18 deaths because of freezing temperatures, most of them in EL Alto next to the capital La Paz, one of the highest cities of the world.
Even the east of the country which is mostly sub-tropical climate has been exposed to frosts and almost zero freezing temperatures.
To prevent contagion from flu and other illness the Bolivian Ministry of Education suspended schools until next Wednesday. Weather forecast is for the freezing climate to continue until August with cyclical peaks.
In southern Brazil at least 19 homeless died of hypothermia, and in the city of Urupema, next to Argentina temperatures dropped to a record minus 7.8 Celsius. In the Amazon basin in some cities thermometers dropped to 7 Celsius last Saturday.
In Santiago de Chile freezing temperatures reached minus 2 Celsius killing several homeless and intoxicating two families with malfunctioning burners.
But in the region of Aysen, 1.600 to the south of Santiago, villages are covered in snow and isolated; thousands of cattle and sheep are short of food and minimum temperatures dropped to minus 15 Celsius.
An agriculture emergency has been declared in Aysen; the main airport at Balmaceda has been closed for a week and several small towns have no power.
Paraguay so far has reported nine dead because of freezing weather, mostly homeless, and in the capital Asunción the government has opened refuges to host people overnight.
In Uruguay, one death has been reported and temperatures in the centre of the country dropped to minus 5 Celsius while the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables have soared.
In Peru which is more exposed to cold climate, so far 104 people have been reported dead because of pneumonia and respiratory diseases, caused by freezing temperatures and poor medical attention.
Although impressive these numbers are considered “normal” by Peruvian sanitary authorities for this time of the year.

greg~judy wrote:

[u]The polar wave that has trapped the Southern Cone of South America has caused an estimated one hundred deaths and killed thousands of cattle, according to the latest reports on Monday from Argentina, south of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia. ).

An intense cold front is rearing its head across South America, killing dozens, closing down highways, and killing cattle across the Andes.

At least 26 people have died in Argentina, from a combination of exposure to harsh climates, poisoning from carbon monoxide inhalation, and other factors, according to the Associated Press.

The front, which set in Saturday, has remained over much of the countries in the Southern Hemisphere, which are in the height of winter now.

As authorities respond to shelter for thousands in need, the cold snap could wreak havoc on farmers for months to come. Argentina is just coming out of one of its worst droughts in five decades, which saw cows dying and grassland shriveled last year. In neighboring Paraguay, authorities say approximately 1,000 cattle have frozen to death.

Ten people have died in Paraguay, while in Uruguay, some two deaths have been reported due to low temperatures as of Tuesday. The Andina news agency reports that pregnant alpacas in Peru have been losing their babies.

As one reader noted on the CNN website: “I think many people are failing to realize that in some parts of these countries there is no infrastructure to handle these temperatures. While it may seem like a mild winter to some of us in the US, these places do not have similar well-heated homes. Some of them live in basic shacks.”

In Bolivia, school was cancelled through at least Wednesday, as the nation faced 18 deaths due to low temperatures. In the eastern city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, an opposition stronghold in this normally tropical region, the temperature, at 37 F, was the lowest reported in nearly three decades. Elsewhere in the country it dropped below freezing.

In Chile, the Associated Press reports that the capital, Santiago, has turned a sports stadium into a shelter after one reported death linked to exposure.

And further south, in the Aysen region, heavy snow has cut off access to many small towns that dot this sparsely-populated province. Weather forecasters say that this cold front could persist through tonight, and into tomorrow.

More than a week of abnormal cold has chilled Argentina and other parts of South America, leaving rare snow, rewriting record books and causing hypothermia deaths.

The outbreak began more than one week ago with biting winds out of Antarctica chilling southernmost Chile and Argentina, a land known as Patagonia.

The cold outbreak set up the Andean region for deep snow. In the Chilean district of Aysen, the snowstorm was said to be worst in 30 years and left more than 2 feet of snow on the ground at both Coihaique and Balmaceda. According to a meteorologist at MetSul, a weather service in southern Brazil, snow accumulation to 5 feet was reported from Balmaceda. The Army were called upon to rescue people trapped by the snow.

Snow spread northward in Argentina along the eastern side of the Andes. Mendoza, a region known for its wine, not snow, had snow said to be the heaviest in a decade.

Rare snow whitened the resort beaches of Mar del Plata on the morning of July 15.

Snow was seen for the first time in living memory in parts of Santiago del Estero, the MetSul meteorologist said. In the far north, one town of Tucuman had snow for the first time since 1921.

... etc...