A polar air mass of Antarctica is reaching the region, reducing temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
At least 15 people have died during a record of a record cold that is hitting Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, today the international press has released.
The cold vacancy forced the governments of the three South American countries to restrict gas supply and trigger emergency shelter plans, according to France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
A polar air mass of Antarctica is reaching the region, reducing temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius in the three countries.
In Argentina, at least nine homeless died due to the cold this winter, according to the Nõs-Governmental Organization (NGO) Project 7.
In Buenos Aires, temperatures went down to – 1.9 ° C on Wednesday, the lowest level in 34 years.
The lack of electricity, caused by the high demand, left thousands of people without electricity for more than 24 hours in some areas. In other parts of Argentina, snow covered beaches of the Atlantic, such as Miramar (450 kilometers from Buenos Aires), while the small patagonic town of Maquinchao recorded temperatures of -18 ° C on Tuesday.
The Argentine government suspended gas supply to industries and fuel supply on Wednesday to ensure gas supply to housing.
Uruguay, where temperatures came down below zero in some zones, declared “red alert” across the country after the death of six people, allowing the government to make the homeless people to make force.
In Montevideo, temperatures reached a maximum of 5.8 ° C on June 30, the lowest since 1967, according to meteorologist Mario Bidegain.
Chile also activated shelter plans during the colder days. The city of Chillan, 400 kilometers south of Santiago, recorded – 9.3 ° C, according to the meteorological direction of Chile.
It snowed in parts of the Atacama desert, the driest of the world, for the first time in a decade.
“What happened this week in Chile and the Southern Cone of America in general is a cold spot caused by a polar air mass from Antarctica,” climatologist Raul Cordero of the University of Santiago told AFP.
The situation in the region should improve in the coming days.
