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CHILE: May 17, 2007
SANTIAGO - Known best as a catalyst for devastating hurricanes, the La Nina weather anomaly is helping to stir up some of the worst pollution seen in Chile's capital Santiago since 1999, and it could last for months.
Santiago, home to some six million people, had its second consecutive environmental alert on Tuesday, forcing restrictions on the use of vehicles and bans on the use of wood-burning stoves for heating.
A yellow haze has hung around the midriffs of the city's taller buildings for days and parents are watching young children for signs of respiratory illnesses.
La Nina, a weather anomaly which means "little girl" and is associated with cooling Pacific waters, is said to be inhibiting crucial rains in Santiago and could prevent accumulated smog from being washed away during the cool winter months of June through August.
"At the moment we're experiencing the progress of La Nina, which is provoking a rain deficit in Chile's central region," Luis Serrano, of the Chilean Meteorological Authority, told Reuters.
Santiago is situated in a basin between two Andes mountain ranges that trap pollution, particularly during the Southern Hemisphere winter, when high pressure systems suppress the city's already bad ventilation.
"Specifically, here in Santiago the most likely result (of La Nina) is that we'll have less precipitation in the fall and winter, and there will be few events that completely renew the air in the basin," said Serrano.
Despite the environmental alerts, the government says enforcement has been lax.
Story by Antonio de la Jara
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
