On Saturday, a winter storm hit the United States, particularly New York City. In Central Park, snowfall reached nearly 11 centimeters and was the largest in the last four yearsThousands of flights were canceled. This happened a few hours after the temperature was taken on Christmas noticeably warmwith temperatures over 17 degrees. In contrast, Buenos Aires experiences days of overwhelming heat promises not to stop until the New Yearwith the arrival of a significant drop in temperature.
We are talking about two different hemispheres in which the governing rules change taking into account the characteristics of both hemispheres, but which share a growing trend.
The experts we speak to Clarion point out that climatic events that can appear “abrupt” or “radical” at these extremes – with the appearance of very different meteorological phenomena in the world – are largely due to the reconfiguration of the atmosphere: the heat continues and the cold is delayed at his appearance.
“The United States had Her hottest Christmas on record was just a few days agoand now you have it the biggest snowstorm in recent years. The climate changes suddenly and there are various meteorological phenomena. The thing is that these events are related to this Human-caused global warming. Is “What makes climate change so important,” says Mauricio Saldívar, meteorologist, in a dialogue with this newspaper.
By this he refers to how human activities, particularly the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane – which arise from the burning of fossil fuels and agriculture – directly affect what we see.
“There was a configuration of the atmosphere with factors that influence the climate. And that.” Polar jeta wind flow that defines the cold wind at the surface, which used to run more east to west, now has more pronounced curves due to changes in global warming. And that happens in both hemispheres.”says.
Although it makes a difference: While in the southern hemisphere the larger oceanic component tends to mitigate heat and cold waves, in the north it is the larger continental component produces the opposite effect.
“The fact that four years have passed without snowfall of this magnitude is not because it is unusual, but because the warming was felt in December. In the United States, the cold air masses from the Arctic that should have already arrived at that time were delayed Winter is getting warmer“The flights were stopped because of the bad weather and not because of the cold,” explains meteorologist Marcelo Ricardo Madelón.
In general, for the expert, what we saw was the result of a delay in snowfall in the winter season, something that was the case in Argentina It was also suffered in August 2025: Without going any further, the winter season at the La Hoya ski center in Esquel has ended prematurely. The lack of snow in the mountains forced the slopes to be closed.
On the other hand, the first heat wave of the year in this last week of December in Buenos Aires marks, for the expert, a summer that will be “slightly hotter than normal”. For a heat wave to occur, the values must be above 22 degrees minimum and 32.3 degrees maximum on at least three consecutive days: that will now be fulfilled.
For December 31st, the extended forecast calls for a minimum of 25 degrees and a maximum, according to various measurements between 36 and 39 degrees. With these values, after a spring-like November with temperature differences, the official forecast that this summer will be warmer than usual (probability between 40 and 45%) is beginning to come true.
This Tuesday a minimum of 25 degrees and a maximum of 37 degrees are expected, while on Monday we start the overwhelming series with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 33.
On Thursday, with the New Year, there could be a “relief” because a cold front will appear, there will be a rotation of the southerly wind and a drop in temperature: from a maximum of 38 °C it can drop to 27 °C. There may be a few showers early in the morning on Friday.
“And little by little The province of Buenos Aires and the federal capital will overheat. We are just starting a summer that is a little hotter than normal in the north and rains a lot. “There will be more rain in the northwest and it is expected to be colder,” he added.
And the rains will occur with greater intensity in Jujuy and Salta, but will also extend to neighboring provinces such as Formosa and Tucumán, where storms and high temperatures of up to 37 degrees are expected. At the other extreme, the flooding in Corrientes shows no signs of ending, with further rainfall forecast for the coming days.
About The Author
