Climate change: The country that's hitting almost 40 degrees - in the middle of winter

Temperatures of 39C across Europe sparked climate change alarms during the recent summer heatwave, but at the same time, similar temperatures are being recorded in the southern hemisphere - where it is the middle of winter.

In recent weeks the headlines have been dominated by wildfires ravaging Greek islands and a long heatwave baking the Mediterranean.

With thousands evacuated from the fires and several deaths being blamed directly on the high temperatures meteorologists have pointed to climate change as the reason why events like this are happening nearly every year.

Read more: Cerberus: Why has Europe begun naming heatwaves?

But on the other side of the planet climate change scientists have been even more alarmed by a winter heatwave that has struck South America.

August is equivalent to February in the southern hemisphere but this for many people living in Chile and Argentina the problem hasn't been the cold, it's the fact it's too warm.

What's happening in South America?

Temperatures are soaring in the southern countries on the continent, Chile and Argentina.

Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera said: "South America is living one of the extreme events the world has ever seen."

On Tuesday, the mountain town of Vicuna in central Chile hit 38.7C and the capital Santiago recorded 24C.

In the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, the temperature exceeded 30C on Tuesday, making it the highest 1 August temperature since record-keeping began.

The average August temperature in Buenos Aires is 13.5C.

The highest temperature recorded during the heatwave was in the Chilean Andes at 38.9C.

Read more: 11 charts that explain the big changes to Britain's weather

"Having temperatures of 37 degrees in the middle of southern winter is extraordinary," said Raul Cordero, a climatologist at the University of Santiago.

"It is a temperature anomaly of almost 15 degrees above typical values ​​and unfortunately it is not a local problem, it is a global problem."

Jacques said that while some of the temperature increase is expected during this time of the year due to atmospheric circulation, these extreme temperatures have been exacerbated by El Nino and an increasingly warming planet.

He said it was a "robust sign of warming" about the dangers of climate change.

The winter season has been eventful in Chile, with the most intense rainstorms in decades leaving thousands homeless, isolated towns and blocked roads in the south-central area of the country.

According to the latest forecasts, high temperatures in the north and centre of the country will last all week.

Unusual high temperatures in the middle of winter could pose a threat in the future impacting glaciers and snow in the mountains, both of which help provide water to Chile's water supply.

How does this compare to Europe?

Temperatures around 40C were recorded all over southern Europe in July in the height of summer, but for that same temperature to happen in winter would be astounding.

Chile is a very large country covering several types of climate but it has an average temperature ranging from 1C to 11C.

The average temperature of Greece in February, the southern hemisphere equivalent to August, is similar at 2C to 10C.

If Greece saw a similar winter heatwave to Chile British tourists would be arriving in droves to enjoy mid 30s temperatures in February.

The UK has experienced milder winter heatwaves recently, with 21.2C recorded in February 2021 in London, 14.2C higher than average.

This is almost as astounding as the figures in Buenos Aires which recorded a temperature 16.5C higher than an average August.