Snow blanketed Santiago, the Chilean capital, in May 2024 — a rare and stunning sight that marked the coldest month in the city in over 70 years.

The unusual weather event stood in stark contrast to the severe drought that gripped the Amazon rainforest just a few months later, cracking the basins of the Negro River in the Brazilian port of Manaus and allowing people to walk along some parts of the Amazon River in Santa Sofia, Colombia.

The Associated Press, sensitive to the impact of natural phenomena and disasters, captured the raw power of nature as it ravaged Latin America in 2024, a year marked by extreme weather events and climate change.

High temperatures and drought fueled wildfires across Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season hit Caribbean islands, stirred the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and devastated land in the southern United States, in a year with 11 tropical storms — above the usual average of seven — that left death and destruction in their wake.

Beryl set a new record as the first Category 4 hurricane to form in June, impacting Carriacou, Grenada. Subsequent storms, Helene and Milton, exacerbated the region’s wet season, delivering triple the average September-October rainfall.

Meanwhile, the region underwent historic political change as Mexico elected its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro won his third reelection in polls questioned for their lack of transparency.

Two more presidents completed their first year in office facing turmoil in the streets.

Javier Milei faced demonstrations across Argentina over cuts that suffocated segments of the population that were already overwhelmed by high inflation and the loss of purchasing power. And Daniel Noboa, who is seeking reelection in February, concludes 2024 amidst a severe energy crisis, with power outages lasting up to 14 hours.

Violence continued to grip Haiti and Mexico, with grisly scenes of corpses in Port-au-Prince and Culiacan.

However, 2024 also brought moments of celebration, curiosity and hope to Latin America. A young girl found joy skipping rope at a school for refugees in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince; hundreds gathered in Puerto San Julián, Argentina to witness the annular solar eclipse and Indigenous women in traditional skirts invented a new ball game in the Ecuadorian Andes.

___

Get the best of The AP’s photography delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for The World in Pictures.