Science Source

Assessment of the current climate and expected climate changes in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile

Finds that trends in Santiago for the last 30 years (1970-2000) show increasing temperatures especially for the upper elevation stations, whereas precipitation amounts have been decreasing
Finds the presence of a warming trend (from 1979-2006) in the Andean regions of central Chile, and a less significant – yet still observable – warming trend in the valley regions
States that, as the Metropolitan Region of Santiago is mostly located within the central valleys and close to the mountain range, according to the results by Falvey and Garreaud, temperatures have been increasing during the last 40 years
Finds that glaciers in the region have presented negative trends in volume and mass according to previous studies, and due to projected higher temperatures in the future these glaciers are expected to keep receding
Climate projections for the region show some variability in value, but mostly agree in the trends being projected: warming temperatures and decreasing precipitation is expected for the region of southern South America according to the models