Fenicopters in the snow and at least 15 deaths: a wave of extreme frost from Antarctica hit South America

A surreal image: pink flamingos which slowly walk on the beach of Puerto Madrynin the province of Chubut, while the snowflakes fall dense from the sky. The June 28thduring one of the most intense cold waves ever recorded in South America.

But behind the beauty of such rare images there is a much more dramatic reality: At least 15 people have lost their lives between Argentina, Chile and Uruguayaccording to what is reported by official sources and local NGOs such as Proyecto 7. Nine of these victims were Argentine homeless people, who died due to prolonged frost exposure, while six others died in Uruguay, where the government declared the national “red alert” in order to be able to forcefully transfer those who live to the street to emergency shelters.

Extreme cold and social crisis

The wave of frost, which began on June 26 and culminated on the 30th, brought temperatures up to -18 ° C in the Argentine city of Maquinchao. In the capital Buenos Aires touched the lowest temperature since 1991, -1.9 ° C. “What happened this week in Chile and the South Cono in general is a cold wave caused by the escape of a polar air mass from Antarctica,” he explained toAGENCE FRANCE-PSSE the climatologist Raul Cordero of the University of Santiago.

To cope with the emergency, the Argentine government has reduced the supplies of gas to industries and distributors, giving priority to domestic uses. Extraordinary plans have been activated in Chile and Uruguay for the reception of homeless people, but the measures have not always shown themselves enough to prevent deaths.

It snows in the desert: the exceptional scope of the phenomenon

To hit public opinion and the scientific community was not only the severity of the cold, but also the geographical extension of the phenomenon. For the first time in over ten years, The snow fell on the Atacama desertthe most arid place on the planet. According to the data of the Weather Directorate of Chilethe snow held the Observatory Observatory operating center, located at 2,900 meters above sea level. Cities such as Mar del Plata and Montevideo have also recorded snowfalls or minimum record temperatures, with negative peaks never touched for decades.

Meteorological phenomena so extreme and anomalous are becoming increasingly frequent, according to experts, and are an alarm bell that recalls the urgency of the ongoing climatic crisis. THE’World Meteorological Organization He highlighted in a recent press release that Argentina and Chile, on June 30, found themselves among the coldest places on the earth outside the polar regions.

Flora, fauna and agriculture under siege

The emergency does not only concern humans. In Chile and in northern Patagonia, early frosts damaged fruit crops and compromised winter sowing.

Wildlife has also been affected by the extreme climate. The flamingos spotted in Puerto Madryn represent only the visible part of a wider impact: many species, including migratory, are disoriented by these sudden thermal changes. Exposure to frost for unsuitable animals can have lethal consequences, especially in fragile environments such as coastal or desert ones.

While South America faces unprecedented polar frost, the northern hemisphere – including Europe – lives a torrid summer with temperatures beyond 40 ° C in many areas. The contrast between opposite hemispheres is not only a seasonal anomaly: “We cannot exclude that this is also caused by climate change,” the meteorologist Arnaldo Zuniga told the FP.