Children die in harsh Peru winter

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Almost 250 children under the age of five have died in a wave of intensely cold weather in Peru.

Children die from pneumonia and other respiratory infections every year during the winter months particularly in Peru's southern Andes.

But this year freezing temperatures arrived almost three months earlier than usual.

Experts blame climate change for the early arrival of intense cold which began in March.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8146995.stm

[Judi Lynn]

1. What a wretched event. What would happen if 250 children died lie this

in European-descended countries? People would be chewing the scenery.

If they are brown or black, apparently not so big a deal. From the article:

~snip~
Children, who are often malnourished, are more vulnerable to the extreme cold.

Poverty is widespread in Peru's southern highlands and there is a lack of healthcare and basic services.

The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas but critics say the cold snaps are predictable and the annual deaths preventable.

Many have blamed government inefficiency for the deaths.