In South America, winter is coming to an end. However, with afternoon highs consistently exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) in the hottest zones, it seems more like summertime in some regions of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia.

In recent months, a heat dome of high pressure has made repeated trips to the south-central region of the continent. The Andes region of Argentina and Chile experienced temperatures that reached the mid-90s to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit in early August, which is midwinter. Paraguay and Brazil were also engulfed in widespread record heat.

The weather is being controlled by a strong heat dome or zone of high pressure centered over Paraguay. It crosses the southern central region of the continent from east to west.

Warmer days during the winter are often brought on by a high-pressure anomaly that forms a dome over a number of states, including the southeast and southern Amazon, according to climatologist Jose Marengo of Brazil's national disaster monitoring center.

According to Renata Libonati, a researcher at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, the El Nio phenomena and climate change likely exacerbated greater temperatures and drier weather conditions.

The unusually high temperatures may be linked to climate change as well as a decrease in vegetation cover. Temperatures in the state of São Paulo, as well as in the west-central and northern parts of the country, are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in the next few days, Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology said. Brazil has issued a red alert, the highest level for high temperatures in several regions, including Rio de Janeiro, and the heat is expected to last until the 26th of September.

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