As Europe sizzles, South America shivers under cold snap

By Horacio Fernando Soria and Miguel Lo Bianco

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -As Europe and North America swelter through heat waves, people in South America are contending with equally extreme weather at the other end of the spectrum: a sudden cold snap.

In Buenos Aires on Tuesday, locals wrapped up in scarves, puffer jackets and wooly hats, and they sipped hot drinks as frost coated cars in the early morning.

Temperatures in the city dropped below zero, a rarity even in the Southern Hemisphere's winter which is currently under way and runs opposite to the Northern Hemisphere's seasons.

"I literally almost froze," said Juan Manuel Amnini, a 42-year-old engineer in Buenos Aires who wore a gray wool hat and a face covering against the cold.

"You cover up with whatever you have. Under this, I'm wearing layers and layers of clothes like I'm an onion."

In Europe meanwhile, Italy banned outdoor work in some areas, while France shut schools and part of the Eiffel Tower. Spain confirmed its hottest June on record as a severe heat wave gripped Europe, triggering widespread health alerts. In Barcelona, authorities were looking into whether the death of a street sweeper over the weekend was heat-related.

High temperatures in the northern and middle swath of the United States have been consistent since late June.

Heat warnings have been issued across large areas, part of a pattern linked to climate change with high temperatures arriving earlier and lasting longer. Asphalt and concrete in cities intensify the impact by absorbing and radiating heat.

In Argentina - as well as neighboring Chile and Uruguay - the cold snap led to unexpected snowfall in some areas, with chill winds from the Antarctic to the south. Many homes and offices were not built for these conditions, residents said.

"Right now I have a thermal underneath my clothes, a pair of trousers, and another pair of trousers on top of those," said Gael Larrosa, a student in Buenos Aires.

"I have a really hard time with the cold. Here the cold kills you, it really kills you."

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Adam Jourdan. Editing by Cynthia Osterman)