A powerful Antarctic air mass that brought record-breaking cold to Argentina in early July — including lows of -14.2 °C in Maquinchao and rare snowfall near Buenos Aires — has begun to retreat, with temperatures gradually recovering across the country's centre and north. However, Patagonia (Argentina's vast southern region) remains under meteorological warnings, with sustained winds of up to 60 km/h and gusts exceeding 90 km/h, heavy rain in Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, and snowfall expected even at lower elevations in the Chubut, Río Negro and Neuquén provinces. Health authorities have cautioned that lingering sub-zero overnight temperatures pose a risk to vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, as the country's most severe winter episode in recent memory slowly winds down.