Feeling cold lately? This is the reason why

By Sylvan Hardy

Ecuadorians are asking: Why is it so cold? People are wrapping themselves in heavy coats and ponchos despite the fact that low temperatures are at the seasonal average.

Cuencanos and expats have been dressing for cooler weather.

“It’s all the cloud cover and the rain,” says ETAPA weatherman Rigoberto Guerrero. “Typically, we have several hours of sunshine a day in January and February, which warms us up, but this year we have the moisture moving in from the Amazon, creating all the clouds.”

According to Guerrero, overnight low temperatures between 9 and 12 degrees (48 to 54F) are seasonal. “The difference is that the high temperatures, which are usually 21 to 23 degrees (70 to 74F) in February are only averaging 18 degrees (64F).

Guerrero adds that there’s also a psychological factor. “When it’s sunny outside we feel warm, but when it’s cloudy and rainy, we feel cold.”

Cuenca expat and former Colorado construction company owner Phil Sanford says building standards in Ecuador contribute to the cool feelings. “In the U.S., most of us lived in insulated homes with tight-fitting windows and doors,” he says. “Here, there’s no insulation and the windows are not very well fitted. One of the windows in my house has a quarter-inch gap between the frame and the wall.”

Besides different construction standards, Sanford says North Americans are accustomed to temperature-controlled environments. “We usually set our thermostats between 68 and 73 up there, but here, we don’t have central heat and air and depend on outside temperatures to stay comfortable.”

Like Guerrero, Sanford sees his Cuencano neighbors dressing in heavier clothing. “They are used to the normal range of temperatures but when it gets outside that range, like it’s been lately, they start complaining, just like the gringos.”

Standford also agrees with Guerrero that the comfort level in Cuenca is determined by sunshine. “I have an attic and on days with a lot of sunshine, it can be 73 or 74 downstairs because of the trapped heat. Lately though, it’s been 61 or 63. You can feel the difference and it’s why my wife has been firing up the space heater.”

Sanford says he’s comfortable in Cuenca’s climate. “I grew up at 6,000 feet in Colorado and got used to putting on a sweater when it got chilly,” he said. “My dad was a cheapskate and wouldn’t turn on the heat in the fall until it got down to 60 and my mom started screaming.”

The National Metrology Institute reports the entire country is suffering a sunshine deficit since December. In the past three months, the average of sunshine hours is 12% below normal. This contrasts with 15% above average sunshine hours in 2023 and 2024 due to the drought.