The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: An Ominous South American Winter Heat Burst
Dear Diary. Tuesday the Weather Professor (Jeff Berardelli) via what Maximilliano Herrera noticed an extreme record from Argentina, which was so extreme that it could not have happened if it weren’t for more rapid climate change that appears to be going on across the planet this year. As most educated people know, it’s the middle of winter across Southern South America, so maxes in Argentina in excess of 100°F would be extremely unusual:
In response to Jeff’s message, I looked at Pivotal Weather charts and found a better than 594 decameter heat dome had developed over the area:
Thankfully, this heat dome will weaken and move north towards Brazil in a few days:
One question I need to pose with climate folk is, at better than 420 parts per million of carbon dioxide, has the atmosphere now reached a tipping point such that highly unusual heat waves, even in winter, will be quite common from now on, even more so than for most of the 21st century so far?
We will try to get answers from experts for this question during the next year. I’ll also let my readers know about any attribution studies for this South American winter heat wave.
Here are some more recent records from South America:
Here are more details from the Washington Post:
It’s midwinter, but it’s over 100 degrees in South America
August 2, 2023 at 1:43 p.m. EDT
Temperatures are forecast to rise near and above 100 degrees again Wednesday, and in days to come. (weatherbell.com)
It’s the middle of winter in South America, but that hasn’t kept the heat away in Chile, Argentina and surrounding locations. Multiple spells of oddly hot weather have roasted the region in recent weeks. The latest spell early this week has become the most intense, pushing the mercury above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while setting an August record for Chile.
In Buenos Aires, where the average high on Aug. 1 is 58 degrees (14 Celsius), it surpassed 86 (30 Celsius) on Tuesday.
“South America is living one of the extreme events the world has ever seen,” weather historian Maximiliano Herrera tweeted, adding ,“This event is rewriting all climatic books.”
The most extreme conditions have occurred in the southern half of the continent, and particularly the Andes Mountain region.
These were the hottest places during Earth’s hottest month
Temperatures Tuesday rose past 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in numerous locations, including at elevations of around 3,500 to 4,500 feet in the Andes foothills. In some cases, the temperature crested above 100 degrees (38 Celsius) after leaping as much as 60 to 70 degrees (33 to 39 Celsius) from morning lows in the 30s and 40s (single-digits Celsius).
Some places have even reached all-time maximums — surpassing summer temperatures, even though it is winter. This has occurred in locations with 20 to 30 years of climate data, showing how exceptional this heat is during recent decades.
What’s going on?
High pressure is controlling the weather of southern South America. (Climate Reanalyzer)
Like many other portions of the globe, record heat has visited parts of South America repeatedly in recent weeks. The big difference from its northern neighbors is that it’s winter there.
Parts of Brazil began to bake in mid-July, establishing record highs for the month as temperatures rose to at least 100 degrees (upper 30s Celsius). There was another spell of unusual heat during the third week of the month, which brought a slew of July records to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Currently, a powerful zone of high pressure, or heat dome, centered around Paraguay is dominating the weather. It extends east to west across the south-central part of the continent.
Abnormally warm winter temperatures have also been observed in Australia, Africa, and some island regions. These hot and persistent high-pressure zones have become more probable with climate change, according to scientists.
Exceptional ongoing heat
Temperatures compared to normal on Tuesday afternoon, per the GFS weather model. (Tropical Tidbits)
August in the southern hemisphere is equivalent to February in the northern hemisphere. It shouldn’t be hot, let alone scorching hot.
Weather historian Thierry Goose called it an “extraordinary winter heatwave” for Chile on Twitter as the temperature climbed as 101.7 degrees (38.7 Celsius), a national record for August.
Vicuña and Chiguinto in the central part of Chile, about 230 and 300 miles north of Santiago, respectively, both reached that mark Tuesday.
Temperatures in the afternoon reached 40 to 45 degrees (22 to 25 Celsius) above normal for the date, and in some cases a bit more. Overnight lows have been exceptionally warm as well, ranging from above freezing in the mountains to as high as the 70s (mid-20s Celsius) in lower elevations.
When every day somewhere is a climate record
Many locations in Argentina also saw highs of 86 to 05 degrees (30 to 35 Celsius). Buenos Aires set a daily record for the start of August, with its high of 86.2 degrees (30.1 Celsius), which was more than 9 degrees (5 Celsius) above the previous daily record and nearly twice as warm as it should be on the date. The thermometer rose to 98 degrees (37.2 Celsius) in the coastal city of Rivadavia.
The current heat spell will peak over the next few days. It began in late July, bringing record temperatures as high as 98.6 degrees (37 Celsius) to Paraguay earlier in the week.
More to come
Forecast temperature anomaly in Celsius for the next week. (weatherbell.com)
Like other global hot spots that refuse to cool off for long, South America’s wintertime warmth is set to persist.
Large zones of temperature extremes in a similar range as recently seen are expected to last at least into the weekend as high pressure continues to exert control. Highs between 95 and 104 degrees (35 and 40 Celsius) are a good bet in the hottest spots for days to come.
While cooler weather is increasingly possible with time, especially in eastern portions of southern South America, temperatures are forecast to remain 18 to 36 degrees (10 to 20 Celsius) above average in the Andes region for as long as reliable forecasts extend.
By Ian Livingston Ian Livingston is a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. By day, Ian is a defense and national security researcher at a D.C. think tank. Twitter
Here are some other “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is more brand-new July 2023 climatology:
Here is more climate and news from Wednesday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)