Daily temperatures over the next two to three weeks are expected to be within the range of 32-34 degrees Celsius (89-93 Farenheit) as several parts of the country continue to experience little or no rainfall, the cause being a weak El Nino weather phenomenon which, the Hydromet Department stated recently, is expected to intensify within the next several weeks.
According to AccuWeather.com, over the next 15-20 days, Guyana will experience daily temperatures ranging between 32-34 degrees Celsius with more than 50% of this time period being hot days. The minimum temperatures forecasted for the timeframe falls in the range of 23-25 degrees Celsius. AccuWeather stated that weather conditions within the timeframe are forecasted to include mostly sunny days, with sunshine forecasted to dominate the time period. Periods of rain, sometimes humid, as well as partly sunny conditions with a few periods of light showers are expected to feature on a few days.
The Hydromet department had stated recently that the probability of the present El Nino Phenomenon is forecasted at 80% for the months September/ October. It is also forecasted to enter the first quarter of 2010, with farmers expected to be significantly affected by the dry weather conditions.
Over the past several weeks, the country had experienced daily high temperatures of above 30 degrees Celsius with the average temperature being at 22-23 degrees Celsius. According to the Timehri Met Office, except for a few a scattered showers, most parts of the country have been experiencing sunny days from July to date.
Stabroek News visited the Capoey Lake in Region Two last week to get a first-hand view of the level of the water and observed water being drained from the lake to nearby rice land as the usual sources of water had reached low levels. An official at the Drainage and Irrigation office of the Region Two administration told Stabroek News that there had been instances in the past when the rice land along the Essequibo coast suffered shortages of water but that the present conditions standout.
Normally the El Nino phenomenon results in diminished hurricanes in the Atlantic; thus far, since the 2009 season commenced on June 1, except for a few tropical depressions which featured early in the season, only Hurricane Bill and Hurricane Frederick featured so far. The hurricane season of 2009 officially ends on November 30.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), El Nino weather phenomenon results when unusually warm current flows off the western coast of South America. Its appearance after Christmas led sailors in Peru to christen it El Nino, the Christ Child in Spanish.
During the March 1997/March 1998 El Nino in Guyana, there was a grave water shortage in all the country’s administrative regions, brush fires and a surge in water-borne diseases as daily temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius dominated the time period. Sea water had also begun to flow upstream in many of the country’s rivers as agricultural production that year dropped. In other parts of South America El Nino triggered severe floods.
