MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Santiago suffering the coldest July since 1908: 2 degrees below monthly average

Deaths have been attributed to the cold spell and accidents with heaters

Santiago just had the coldest July since 1908 with an average temperature of 6 degrees Celsius. That is 2 degrees under the usual monthly average, according to the Department of Geophysics of the University of Chile.

This entire winter has been unusually cold and the effects are being felt throughout the city. One in three people in the city have been reported as having respiratory illnesses in the last few weeks.

Services to the homeless population are being stressed and deaths throughout Chile have been attributed to the cold weather due to illness and accidents with gas heaters.
With the cold in July also came a record amount of frost for the month. Seven days had temperatures below 0°. This has caused crops such as avocados, oranges and lemons to be damaged. The exports of these fruits are expected to fall by as much as 40%.

Not all businesses have been negatively affected, though: the sales of heaters have gone up by 40%. The cold weather is expected to continue into the week with highs around 16 degrees Celsius and lows around 2 degrees.
 

By Kara Frantzich – Santiago Times