People Exposed to Climate Change: South America
December 2024 to February 2025
Temperature anomalies
- Argentina - home to more than 47 million people - had the highest average temperature anomaly, 0.9°C above the 1991-2020 normal.
Top 10 Countries in South America with the Highest Average Temperature Anomalies
Days with unusual heat made twice as likely by climate change
- Over the last three months, nearly 364 million people across 10 countries in South America experienced daily average temperatures that were strongly influenced by climate change (defined as CSI 2 or higher) for at least one-third of the season (30 or more days).
Top 10 Countries in South America with the Most Unusual Heat Added by Climate Change
Risky heat days added by climate change
RRisky heat days are days with temperatures hotter than 90% of temperatures observed in a local area over the 1991-2020 period. Heat-related health risks rise when temperatures climb above this local threshold. This is a conservative approximation of the local minimum mortality temperature (MMT), an indicator of the local links between temperature and mortality based on peer-reviewed research by Tobias et al. (2021) and Gasparrini et al. (2015).
- Nearly 38 million people across the continent were exposed to at least 30 risky heat days that were added by climate change.