Temperatures to return to normal following hottest summer in a century

SANTIAGO.- The summer of this year has reportedly been the hottest registered in Santiago in the last 94 years, with an average temperature of 30.6ºC. The season was also one of the warmest experienced by the entire central-southern sector of the country in recent decades. Nevertheless, the Department of Meteorology has said that there are no indications that the fall and winter seasons will display temperatures above normal and that temperatures are actually very likely to be more normal for the time of year.

The head of the Climatology Department for the entity, Jorge Carrasco, explained that "there is no evidence to suggest that the winter will bring temperatures that are above normal".

Furthermore, the expert also indicated that "it is very likely that as fall continues, temperatures will become seasonally lower and will approach more normal values for the time of year".

When asked whether this year would be rainy, Carrasco said that making such a forecast is "quite uncertain" given current conditions, since the La Niña phenomenon will begin to subside in May, entering into a "neutral phase" that allows for "less certainty with regards to the paths of low-pressure systems".