A rare cold snap stuns Uruguay, hitting the homeless hard and causing 7 deaths

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — An unusual gust of frigid air extending from Antarctica has blasted the small South American nation of Uruguay, leading to the deaths of at least seven homeless people this week and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency as they scrambled to open shelters.

The polar front first dumped the mass of freezing weather on Uruguay on Monday, shocking a coastal nation with flat terrain accustomed to mild winters in the Southern Hemisphere.

Light snow dusted parts of the country for the first time in four years as temperatures hit minus 3 Celsius (26 Fahrenheit) and windchill readings dipped far below that. But the freeze was breaking on Thursday, with temperatures expected to rise across the country in the coming days.

As health officials issued numerous warnings about the dangers of frostbite and hypothermia, homeless people faced potentially devastating circumstances.

Outreach workers fanned out around the city, trying to convince people to come indoors. The seven homeless people who died from exposure to the cold were found in various parts of the country — one man who had been sleeping under a bridge, another in a bus station, another in a tent near the river.

The homeless population in the economically stable nation of 3.4 million has steadily climbed in recent years, with the Ministry of Social Development in 2024 reporting over 2,700 homeless people — the vast majority in the capital of Montevideo.

President Yamandú Orsi this week invoked rare executive emergency authorities that empowered police and other officials to forcibly remove homeless people from the streets, citing a level of risk for the rough sleepers that Uruguay has seldom seen.

"The possibility of mandatory evacuation has been applied for the first time because the scale of the problem really requires other tools,'' said Leandro Palomeque, director of Uruguay's National Emergency System.

Authorities opened 32 new warming centers and three more sprawling evacuation spots — including by converting public gyms and a police academy — and prepared some 1,000 extra beds.

Inside one shelter late Wednesday, social workers distributed blankets and hot meals to scores of people who warmed themselves around the steaming vats of meat stew, their faces flushed from the searing winds.

Some said police forcibly removed them from the street.

''I was lying on a small table, and the police came and told me I couldn't be on the street,'' said Mauricio Rodríguezs. '' I didn't want to come.''

Others, reaching the limit of how much they could withstand, sought out a warm bed.

''The worst time of winter is dusk, when the cold starts to set in and your body can't take it anymore,'' said Lucas Bilhere, 19, wrapping himself in a blanket in the Montevideo evacuation center.

His puppy, Alaska, pranced around the orderly rows of vinyl mattresses strewn with donated sheets where hundreds of people slept bundled-up on the polished gymnasium floor. Rumpled shirts and damp socks hung from the nets of soccer goals.

Unlike in normal shelters, the warming centers allowed homeless people to bring pets and personal belongings and remained open during the daytime.

As much as Bilhere said he dreaded this wintry weather, he feared just as much what would happen when the cold snap passed and the emergency shelters closed.

''My dream is to have my own home ... and sleep warm,'' he said. '' I wish that for everyone.''