el-salvador-climate change recentclimate
el-salvador-climate change recentclimate

About the El Salvador

El Salvador climate, The state is one of the smallest countries in the region, with a total size of 21.040 km2. With a population of 6.581.860 people in 2017, urban regions accounted for 60.2 percent of the population, while rural regions accounted for 39.8 percent.

El Salvador has one of the continent’s highest population densities, with 313 people per square kilometer. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (AMSS), the country’s political and economic hub, comprises 3% of the country’s land and is home to 25.7 percent of the inhabitants, with a population density of 2.772 people per square kilometer.

El Salvador climate , a tiny Central American country, with a tropical climate that is hot all year at the coast and below 1,000 meters (3,300 feet), known as tierras calientes, with minimal variation in temperature (just a few degrees) between seasons. Rainfall and humidity are where the real differences are found.

el-salvador-climate change recentclimate
el-salvador-climate change recentclimate

From late April through October, there is a rainy season, which is also very humid.
Volcanoes, plateaus, and mountains can be found in interior places, where the weather cools as height increases.

Cloud forests can be found at intermediate elevations; at high elevations, above 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), winter evenings can be frigid. Cerro El Pital is the highest point, albeit the summit, at 2,730 meters (8,957 feet), is in Honduras; from November to March, snow may be seen on the summit.

El Salvador Climate

From December through March, El Salvador is occasionally affected by the Norte, a cool wind from the United States that can bring a little cool weather in the evenings and at night in the lowlands, but a little cold at night in San Salvador, with lows around 10 °C (50 °F).

El Salvador climate risk challenges include how climate change may affect agriculture, water resources, human health, ecosystems, infrastructure, and energy. El Salvador’s overview and climatic summary, as well as expected El Salvador climate changes, are included in the brief.

Information on sector impacts and vulnerabilities to El Salvador climate change, the policy backdrop, and active climate change projects in El Salvador are also presented.

el-salvador-climate change recentclimate
el-salvador-climate change recentclimate

Deforestation and land degradation have had a negative influence on agricultural regions, making the country more vulnerable to climate change. During the previous 30 years, El Salvador has seen a continuous increase in extreme occurrences (storms, floods, and droughts).

Rising sea levels are already affecting the Pacific coastline, with 10–28% of the country’s coastal zone area anticipated to be lost by the end of the century. Coastal communities, which house more than 30% of the population, are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and El Nio events.

Impacts of El Salvador Climate Change

The negative impact of El Salvador climate change on agricultural productivity in El Salvador would be among the highest in the area by 2050, according to this analysis. Sorghum, the most important food crop, will lose roughly 14% of its yield owing to climate change. Maize has a 13 percent yield, while rice has an 11 percent yield.

Climate change has the potential to reduce sugar cane production by 36%. Furthermore, El Salvador is likely to be struck more in the coffee sector than any other country in the world, with more than 35 percent of viable coffee-growing land lost (Ovalle-Rivera et al. 2015).

The rising temperatures will also have an influence on livestock productivity. Climate change poses a multi-pronged threat to El Salvador’s agricultural economy, and policymakers are given recommendations to help them deal with it.

The country is organized geographically into three regions: the southern coastal belt, the central valley and plateaus, and the northern highlands. El Salvador’s economy has been steadily growing since the end of its civil war in 1992, with per capita income reaching over US$7,300 in 2010. (CIA, 2011).

From 66 percent in 1991 to 37.8 percent in 2009, the poverty rate has decreased (USDS, 2011). While agriculture continues to play an important role in El Salvador’s economy (producing 11% of GDP in 2010), manufacturing (especially textiles and apparel) and the services sector currently account for 23% and 58% of GDP, respectively (CIA, 2011). Remittances are also an important source of income (USDS, 2011)

El Salvador Climate Change and Disaster Riks

El Salvador is one of the countries most hit by weather-related catastrophes and other risks, losing about 2.5 percent of its GDP each year. It is ranked second in the world for risk exposure to two or more dangers, and first for the entire population at a high risk of death.

Climate change will also likely increase the frequency and intensity of weather-related incidents. On October 30, 2017, the country ratified the Paris Agreement and submitted its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (in Spanish).

El Salvador Climate with Global Climate Change

Temperature and precipitation may cause variations in water availability and droughts in an environmentally sensitive location in a developing country. The hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to investigate the effects of global climate change on water resources in El Salvador’s Guajoyo River Basin.

el-salvador-climate change recentclimate
el-salvador-climate change recentclimate

El Salvador is located in one of Latin America’s most vulnerable regions to the effects of global climate change. Two climate change scenarios and five general circulation models (GCMs) were used to anticipate future climate change.

To determine which GCM was better in terms of goodness of fit to variance in historical series means and standard deviations, a statistical study was conducted. By the middle and end of the twenty–first century, a large decrease in precipitation and a large increase in annual average temperatures were predicted.

el-salvador-climate change recentclimate
el-salvador-climate change recentclimate

In comparison to the base era (1975–2004), the results showed a decreasing trend in the amount of water available and more severe droughts for future climate scenarios.

El Salvador, through its government and, in particular, the MARN, which is responsible for coordinating the preparation and implementation of environmental policies, would be committed to establishing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, provided that these aid in the achievement of national priorities and foster long-term domestic development.

 

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By JC

Consultation on Climate Change & Risk Management