Heat Wave Grips Portions of South America in the Middle of Winter

THE NEW YORK TIMES: An unusual winter heat wave has brought record high temperatures to cities across Argentina, Chile and Paraguay this week, triggering concerns about the impacts of climate change.

Residents of Buenos Aires were wearing shorts and fanning themselves as they struggled to cope with unusual heat on Tuesday. By Thursday, they were back in the jackets and scarves that they would normally wear at this time of the year.

The sudden change in wardrobe was the result of a heat wave gripping portions of South America, including Argentina, Chile and Paraguay, that are supposed to be experiencing winter.

Argentina’s capital city broke an 81-year-old daily temperature record on Tuesday, when the high reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit (or 30 degrees Celsius), according to the national weather service. Normally, highs in Buenos Aires this time of year are in the 60s.

“Climate change is not a distant scenario,” the service said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “It is here, and it is urgent to act.”

This week’s heat wave in South America is part of a recent trend of abnormally high temperatures in the middle of the continent’s winter and also comes as countries in the Northern Hemisphere have faced record heat this summer. » | Jesus Jiménez and Natalie Alcoba (Natalie Alcoba reported from Buenos Aires.) | Thursday, August 3, 2023

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