PERU-WEATHER Cold front continues to hamper Peru

Record ID: 147236

  • Title: PERU-WEATHER Cold front continues to hamper Peru
  • Date: 13th July 2015
  • Summary: LIMA, PERU (JULY 13, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VARIABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE INVESTIGATOR, YAMINA SILVA, SAYING: "There is cold air coming in from the south and it brings snow with it. So there is cold air which can cause the snow to continue for several days, that is what's happening. It's good to be prepared for this kind of situation with blankets for the a
  • Embargoed: 28th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Peru
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5MOBKXCPHPWG942UVU959ZYIH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Residents in Peru's southern Puno province struggled against a cold front on Sunday (July 12) that created heavy snowfall and thick layers of ice.
    Traffic crawled along icy highways and residents made their way across the frozen Laraqueri river.
    Sixto Flores, director of Puno's Meteorological Service, said that animals in the region were facing food shortages due to the snow coverage and that local children had missed school because of the extreme weather conditions.
    "The animals are the ones having difficulties these days. As you can see they don't have food, they don't have anything to forage on. Farmers here in the community, as we have seen, have experienced a snowfall of 50 cm (19 inches). There are also children who haven't been able to go to school due to the snowfall," he explained.
    The cold weather prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency for the provinces of Puno and Arequipa, where temperatures reached a low of -20 C (- 4 ).
    Yamina Silva, a Variability and Climate Change researcher in Lima, said that residents should take precautions since the snowfall was expected to last for a few more days.
    "There is cold air coming in from the south and it brings snow with it. So there is cold air which can cause the snow to continue for several days, that is what's happening. It's good to be prepared for this kind of situation with blankets for the animals and to have food prepared to be able to cope for a few days," she said.
    Ice and snow covered roads made for treacherous driving conditions and provoked accidents.
    Peru's first day of winter was on June 21.
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