"At least 175 people have died in the coldest winter in South America in recent years, officials in six affected countries said. The cold was worst in southern Peru, where temperatures in higher altitudes of the Andes dropped to minus 23 degrees Celsius.
Officials said Monday that since the beginning of last week 112 people died of hypothermia and flu. Argentina measured the coldest temperatures in 10 years. Sixteen people froze to death and 11 died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty heaters. In Bolivia, 18 people died, in Paraguay five and two each in Chile and Uruguay. Nine people died of the cold in southern Brazil.
Thousands of cattle also froze to death on their pastures in Paraguay and Brazil. There are no stables for the animals as temperatures usually do not drop that low.
Several regions in Bolivia and Peru closed schools until the end of the week and larger cities opened emergency shelters for homeless people. Electricity and gas networks are operating at capacity limits in many of the affected regions.
Argentina reported natural gas shortages in several provinces. The poorest population groups are worst affected by the cold spell with their homes poorly equipped to deal with the cold and lack of access to health care.
Keywords: South America cold spell, Peru, Argentina gas shortage, Bolivia, Paraguay"
A questo si aggiunge l'incredibile moria di 6 milioni di pesci in Bolivia, sempre a causa del freddo!
"(3 Aug. 2010 - Update: The number of dead fish and other water-dependent wildlife has increased to about 6 million.)
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Over 1 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles, dolphins and other river wildlife are floating dead in numerous Bolivian rivers in the three eastern/southern departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija. The extreme cold front that hit Bolivia in mid-July caused water temperatures to dip below the minimum temperatures river life can tolerate. As a consequence, rivers, lakes, lagoons and fisheries are brimming with decomposing fish and other creatures.
Unprecedented: Nothing like this has ever been seen in this magnitude in Bolivia. Inhabitants of riverside communities report the smell is nauseating and can be detected as far as a kilometer away from river banks. River communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, fear they'll run out of food and will have nothing to sell. Authorities are concerned there will be a shortage of fish in markets and are more concerned by possible threats to public health, especially in communities that also use river water for bathing and drinking, but also fear contaminated or decaying fish may end up in market stalls. They've begun a campaign to ensure market vendors and the public know how to tell the difference between fresh and unhealthy fish.
In university fish ponds and commercial fisheries the losses are also catastrophic. "
Qui trovate un video impressionante:
http://www.boliviabella.com/1-milli...l-disaster.html

Però, però, però.... perché sui TG nemmeno una parola? Mi sembra un fenomeno estremo e raro quanto, o poco meno, il caldo russo..... mah, chissà!
