Saint Lucia Climate Change – World Best Climate Change information
Saint Lucia Climate Change
Climate change is defined as a significant change in average weather conditions over several decades or longer, such as growing warmer, wetter, or drier. Climate change is distinguished from natural weather fluctuation by its longer-term trend. Climate zones and seasonal cycle of mean temperature and precipitation in St. Lucia for the most recent climatology, 1991-2020. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system separates climates into five primary climate groups based on seasonal precipitation and temperature trends. Climate zones are formed from this system.
Extra heat in the climate system owing to the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere causes these changes. Human activities like as the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), agriculture, and land clearing are the primary sources of these additional greenhouse gases. These activities increase the amount of greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. An increasing greenhouse effect is consistent with the pattern of observed changes in the climate system. Volcanoes, the sun, and natural variability, among other climatic factors, cannot explain the time and magnitude of the observed changes. Climates are changing today.
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Climate Background
What Is The Recent Climate Of Saint Lucia?
Tropical
Saint Lucia, a Commonwealth island with Castries as its capital, has a tropical climate that is hot all year, with a relatively cool, dry season from January to mid-April and a hot, humid, and rainy season from mid-June to November. The northeast trade winds, which are consistent in tropical climes and blow steadily and with moderate force during the first period, are more irregular and may have some interruptions during the second period, heightening the impression of sultriness.
There are two transitional periods between them: from December to early January (when the northeast wind starts to blow, the temperature drops a little, and the weather improves) and from mid-April to mid-June (when the northeast wind starts to blow, the temperature drops a little, and the weather improves) (when both the temperature and the frequency of downpours gradually increase).
Rainfall
Rainfall in Saint Lucia varies by altitude and location; in fact, inland elevations receive more rainfall than the coast, while places nearest to the mountains receive more rainfall than those farther away. The rains, on the other hand, follow a predictable pattern, with more frequent and plentiful rainfall from July to November and less frequent and shorter rains from February to April.
In the driest part of Vieux Fort, on the south coast, 1,400 millimeters (55 inches) of rain fall per year, with more than 100 millimeters (4 inches) falling per month from July to December. February and March are the driest months of the year, with an average rainfall of 50/60 mm (2/2.4 in) per month. Other coastal locations, such as Castries, receive more rain, roughly 2,000 mm (79 in) per year, with the same pattern.
Range of Saint Lucia Climate Change
water
Weather and climate have a direct impact on water supply. In addition to the crucial water input from precipitation on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis, evapotranspiration losses must be considered. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds, in particular, can effectively remove water from the land surface. Water demand is also predicted to vary as a result of climate change, particularly as it relates to rapidly changing demographic and economic conditions. The water sector faces increased operational problems and risk as a result of these changes.
Agriculture
At the local and regional level, climate variability and change affect irrigation, crops and land management, animals, rural transportation, storage, and processing. Climate change is increasing the hazards and functioning as a threat multiplier, especially in terms of water supply and changes in the thermal environment. Climate change is manifesting itself in many regions as higher moisture changes, increased dryness when dry, and increased wetness when wet.
Climate Change and Disaster Risk
The combination of climate-related hazards (including hazardous occurrences and trends), community vulnerability (susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to adapt), and human and natural system exposure is used to assess overall risks from climate-related consequences. Hazards, exposure, and susceptibility are driven by changes in the climatic system and socioeconomic activities, including adaptation and mitigation actions.
Significant increases in population, industrial and agricultural activity, and living standards have increased water stress in many parts of the world, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions, over the last century. 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.
Agriculture Loses
For 22 percent of the population of Saint Lucia, the agricultural sector is the primary source of livelihood security, household food security, and income. Climate change impacts, such as hurricanes, heavy rainfall, floods, droughts, and temperature variations, put the livelihood base’s productivity at risk. Even moderate rainfall can cause many landslides, resulting in widespread soil erosion and heavy sedimentation, and disastrous agriculture losses. With cooler temperatures and persistent rains, small livestock farmers incur mortality in their herds, particularly among the young in goats and sheep, while small aquaculture farmers frequently experience losses as their ponds silt up and become unusable.
Climate Change and Coastal Risk
The planet’s systematic warming is directly driving global mean sea level to rise in two basic ways: (1) melting mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets are adding water to the ocean, and (2) warming of the ocean water causes expansion and therefore greater volume. Since 1880, the global mean sea level has risen roughly 210–240 millimeters (mm), with about a third of it occurring in the previous two and a half decades.However, additional factors such as ground uplift (e.g., ongoing rebound from Ice Age glacier weight), changes in water tables owing to water extraction or other water management, and even the effects of local erosion can all play a role locally.
Rising sea levels put a strain on both the physical coastline and coastal ecosystems. Freshwater aquifers, which support municipal and agricultural water supplies as well as natural ecosystems, can be contaminated by saltwater incursions. Because there is a significant lag between attaining equilibrium and global temperatures continuing to rise, sea level will continue to rise for a long time. The magnitude of the rise will be heavily influenced by future carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, and the speed of the rise may be progressively influenced by glacier and ice sheet melting.
reference – World BankClimate Knowledge, UNDP Climate Adoption
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