British Virgin Islands – (BVI) Climate Change
Climate
The British Virgin Islands have a subtropical climate that is pleasant and mild for most of the year, a factor in the islands’ important tourist industry. Although they are located in the tropics, the heat is tempered by gentle trade winds that blow from the northeast most of the year.
Temperatures average 78 °F (26 °C) annually, and humidity is low. The dry season lasts from February to July and the wet season from September to December. Hurricanes—averaging perhaps four in a century—usually occur between August and October, and there are occasional light earthquakes.
water scarcity is a serious problem. Rainfall averages about 50 inches (1,270 mm) a year, but much of it runs off unused. In the driest sections of the large islands, rainfall usually averages a little less than 30 inches (760 mm), with possibly as much as 80 inches (2,030 mm) on the upper slopes of Mount Sage on Tortola.
Rainfall is erratic, however, varying widely from year to year. British Virgin Islanders have long depended almost entirely upon their own cisterns and wells, and nearly all buildings, both private and public, have their own water catchments.
In addition, water is imported in barges to meet the needs for fresh water—needs now rapidly increasing in proportion to population and industrial growth. Only Road Town has a piped supply.
Climate Change in British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands’ climate is tropical and humid, moderated by cooling northeast trade winds. Temperatures are pleasantly warm year round, hovering around 27°C (80°F), though it can be significantly lower in the evenings from December to April when the trade winds are at their coolest.
The driest months are usually February to May, with the majority of the islands’ rainfall occurring from September to November. However, when the rain does come it’s usually brief, heavy bursts and the average hours of sunshine don’t have a huge variation through the year.
The climate of the U.S. Virgin Islands is changing. The air and ocean are warming, heavy rainstorms are becoming more severe, sea level is rising, and the ocean is becoming
more acidic.
In the coming decades, these environmental changes are likely to increase threats to life and property from severe storms, reduce the availability of fresh water
during the dry season, harm or destroy much of the islands’ coral reef ecosystems, and make air temperatures uncomfortably hot more often.
Our climate is changing because the earth is warming. People have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the
air by 40 percent since the late 1700s. Other heat-trapping greenhouse gases are also increasing. These gases have warmed the surface and lower atmosphere of our planet
about one degree during the last 50 years.
Evaporation increases as the atmosphere warms, which increases humidity, average rainfall, and the frequency of heavyrainstorms—but also contributes to drought. Greenhouse gases are also changing the world’s oceans and ice cover. Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form
carbonic acid, so the oceans are becoming more acidic. Worldwide, the surface of the ocean has warmed about one degree during the last 80 years. Warming is causing mountain glaciers to retreat, and even the great ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica are shrinking. Thus the sea is rising at an increasing rate.
Risk assessment due to the Climate Change in the British Virgin Islands
Climate change is expected to hit developing countries the hardest. Its effects—higher temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters—pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies.
At stake are recent gains in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people in developing countries. Addressing climate change requires unprecedented global cooperation across borders.
The World Bank Group is helping support developing countries and contributing to a global solution, while tailoring our approach to the differing needs of developing country partners. Data here cover climate systems, exposure to climate impacts, resilience, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy use.
Risk
Other indicators relevant to climate change are found under other data pages, particularly Environment, Agriculture & Rural Development, Energy & Mining, Health, Infrastructure, Poverty, and Urban Development.
reference-OCHA Service ,britannica