Grenada climate change
Grenada has a tropical climate that is hot and humid all year, with a chilly and dry season from January to mid-April and a hot, humid, and rainy season from June to December.
The northeast trade winds, which are consistent in tropical climes and blow steadily and with moderate intensity during the first period, are more irregular and may have some pauses during the second period, increasing the impression of sultriness.
The temperature and frequency of downpours progressively increase between mid-April and late May, just before the hot and rainy season begins. Grenada is a country in the Lesser Antilles that encompasses the main island as well as the smaller southern Grenadines. It is approximately midway between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer.
Grenada is made up of three islands: Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique. Grenada has a humid tropical climate with relatively steady temperatures averaging 26 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
The average maximum temperature is 31.4 degrees Celsius, while the average minimum temperature is 24.0 degrees Celsius. Mountainous landscape and coral reefs ring the country’s 345 square kilometer land base.
Grenada has a population of 104,000 people (Charles, 2000; USDS, 2010). Grenada’s climate is predominantly humid and tropical, with a dry season lasting from January to May and a rainy season lasting from June to December.
During some dry seasons, extreme drought conditions can occur
The Caribbean’s topography makes it vulnerable to Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms, which are expected to intensify as a result of climate change. Salt intrusion into freshwater supplies is also a problem for small island settlements, rendering the region extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels.
Grenada Climate
Temperature
Grenada’s yearly average temperature is around 25°C, with only a one-degree variance during the annual seasonal cycle.
The average maximum temperature is 31.4°C, while the average lowest temperature is 24.0°C.
Precipitation
The annual rainfall varies between 750 and 1400 mm.
The dry season lasts from January to May, whereas the rainy season lasts from June to December.
Carriacou and Petit Martinique have fewer rainfall than the rest of the island and can face severe drought during the dry season.
Grenada Climate Change Affects
Grenada is extremely vulnerable to the predicted effects of climate change, and it is already seeing changes in its climate system, as evidenced by increased drought, longer dry seasons, shorter rainy seasons, increased temperature, coastal degradation, and saline water intrusion into aquifers, among other things.
Grenada is particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change as a small island developing state, as indicated by the repercussions of extreme events and the occurrences of increased forest fires, agricultural loss, water shortages, and pest and disease incidence in recent years.
Grenada understands the need of reducing its vulnerability to climate change and strengthening the resilience of its land and people.
Agriculture
The expected impacts of global climate change and extreme weather on crop nutrient content and yields, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, and land use would jeopardize food security.
Crop suitability has already been influenced by climate change in many locations, resulting in variations in output levels of major agricultural crops. Climate change has a negative impact on crop output, both directly and indirectly.
Changes in rainfall extremes, increases in hot nights, exceptionally high daytime temperatures, drought, heat stress, flood, and chilling damage are all examples of direct extremes. Indirect effects include the spread of pests and diseases, both of which can be harmful to agricultural systems.
Water
Significant population, industrial, and agricultural activity, as well as rising living standards, have increased water stress in many parts of the world, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions, over the last century..
Grenada Climate change, on the other hand, will increase or mitigate the consequences of population pressure in different parts of the world in the coming decades. In most dry subtropical climates, it is expected to drastically limit renewable surface and groundwater resources. Water resources, on the other hand, are expected to rise at high latitudes.
Runoff has a proportional change that is one to three times greater than precipitation. Furthermore, even with standard treatment, climate change is expected to degrade raw water quality, posing a risk to drinking water quality.
reference –Â adaptation-undp, climateknowledgeportal-worldbank
recentclimate – Grenada Climate Change in North America