Argentina beat its historic record for electricity consumption on Monday, hitting 30,240 megawatts at 2:45 p.m. as the country goes through another heatwave in which multiple places recorded temperatures of around 40°C. 

According to the electricity management company Cammesa, the previous record for electricity consumption on a business day — reached on February 1, 2024, at 2:48 p.m. — was 29,653 megawatts.

Argentina’s National Meteorological Service (SMN for its Spanish initials) has issued red alerts for 10 provinces — Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Neuquén, as well as regions of Santiago del Estero, Mendoza, San Luis and Corrientes.

An X post by SMN outlined that several cities had recorded temperatures around and above 40°C on Monday, the highest being 41.3°C in San Juan, the capital city of the province of the same name.

There are also weather alerts for storms in provinces suffering extremely high temperatures, as well as Buenos Aires City, on Tuesday, after which temperatures are expected to decrease.

The SMN’s advice is to drink plenty of water (even if you’re not thirsty), avoid the sun as much as possible (particularly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.), stay in ventilated areas, reduce physical exercise, and eat fruit and vegetables instead of hot meals. Make sure to keep an eye out for older adults and children, who are the most affected by high temperatures.

What each alert means

• Yellow Alert: a mild to moderate effect on health, according to the SMN system. Temperatures may be dangerous, especially for at-risk groups such as children, people over 65 years old, and those with chronic illnesses
• Orange alert: moderate to high effect on health, with temperatures deemed “very dangerous” for at-risk groups
• Red alert: temperatures could have high to extreme effects on everybody’s health