Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change
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Introduction of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The Caribbean island archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is located in the Caribbean Sea. The nation comprises of around 30 islands, inlets, and cays, some of which are privately held, with a total land area of 340 square kilometers and 84 kilometers of coastline. The rough, rocky landscape of Saint Vincent’s main island is characterized by valleys that drain to the small coastal area, as well as damp upland forests, numerous rivers, and fertile soils (MHE, 2000).
The Grenadines are made up of islets and cays that are smaller and less rocky than Saint Vincent; due to a lack of rivers and lakes, these islands rely almost entirely on groundwater for their freshwater supply.
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Background
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change is tropical, having hot, humid weather all year. The dry season has traditionally been December to May, and the wet season has been June to November. However, over the last ten years, there have been considerable variations in this trend, with the rainy season now lasting from May to October. Tropical cyclones and hurricanes, as well as the El Nino Southern Oscillation, have an impact on the country. Between June and August, El Nino produces warmer and drier-than-average weather, whereas La Nina brings cooler and wetter weather.
Temperature
Since 1960, the average annual temperature has risen by 0.7°C at a pace of 0.16°C each decade, and this warming has impacted all seasons at the same rate.
Precipitation
Between 1960 and 2006, average monthly precipitation decreased by 8.2 mm (-5.7 percent) each decade. This drop occurs throughout the year, but is most noticeable from June to November, when the average rate of decline was 10.6 to 13.5 mm per month (4.9 percent to 7.1 percent) per decade.
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change,While the weather might change in a matter of hours, the climate is affected over longer periods of time. 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.
Increases in global air and ocean temperatures, rising global sea levels, long-term sustained widespread reductions in snow and ice cover, and changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation as well as regional weather patterns, which influence seasonal precipitation and temperature conditions, have all been observed during the twentieth century.
Extra heat in the climate system owing to the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere causes these changes.
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change,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.
Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change science is backed up by considerable scientific study conducted and reported all over the world. Climate data is gathered from environmental observations and measurements in the past and present. Climate models are used to figure out what is causing climate change.
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Saint Vincent and Grenadines 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 (IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014).
Several natural hazards threaten St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including floods, storms, cyclones, droughts, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.
Climate fluctuation and change are inextricably related to the energy sector. On the one hand, global energy production contributes significantly to the drivers of climate change, especially greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, variations in energy supply (e.g., disruption of operations and distribution) and demand expose it to a variety of climatic variability and change impacts (growing populations and evolving power needs). The ramifications can be complicated, but they are frequently both beneficial and harmful.
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.
Hydrological Risk
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.
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. The annual growth is currently around 3mm each year.
Natural variability in area winds and ocean currents causes regional fluctuations, which can last for days, months, or even 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 – climateknowledgeportal.worldbank,UNDP-Adoption
recentclimate – Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change,Saint Vincent and Grenadines Climate Change News