There is a great uneasiness about the heat wave that we are experiencing, but for those who know this period is Petit Caréme (the little dry season), but it is hotter than usual. Possibly the 2019 Petit Caréme may be affected by climate change.
As one source says, “Trinidad and Tobago have two main seasons - the dry season, from January to May and the wet or rainy season, from June to December. In the rainy season, mornings are usually sunny, followed by rainy afternoons and fair nights.
During this time, our general rainfall pattern is interrupted by days of brilliant sunshine; a climatic phenomenon we fondly call Petit Carême. Petit Carême is similar to what temperate climes know as Indian summer. This mini break normally happens between mid-September to mid-October.”
Unfortunately our meteorologists are being not being heeded when they seek to explain the phenomenon and its consequences.
Overall citizens are distracted from paying attention to climate matters. For whatever reason we don’t seem to have much inclination to look at on-line meteorological reports, which are readily available.
Looking at the Met office’s website (http://www.metoffice.gov.tt/rainandtemp) there are some important features which are ominous. Every statement written on the website is serious but I wonder how many of us are taking advantage of this method of providing information to the general public.
For example under the Mets Rainfall and Temperature Outlook Update, the Temperature Outlook states:
•In most years, the months of September to October are considered as the warmest period of the second heat season in Trinidad and Tobago, with September often being the hottest month;
•SON 2019 (September, October, and November) in Trinidad and Tobago will likely be warmer than usual with potential risky heat exposure during very hot dry spells between September and October. (My emphasis: Warmer than usual!)
•There is a greater than 65 per cent chance for maximum day-time and minimum night-time temperatures to be above average, with September and October days and nights likely to be the warmest during the period;
•The chance for an increase in the number of hot days is higher in Port of Spain and built-up areas;
•Concerns for short duration hot-spells and increase in the number of hot days (with maximum temperature greater than 33.9oC in Trinidad and greater than 32.0oC in Tobago) are elevated for the SON 2019.
The Met Office also lists some likely implications:
•Warmer than average temperatures can aid more intense showers, which will increase the risk for flash floods on hot days, especially in the cities, built-up areas and flood prone areas;
•Increases in surface water ponding can promote mosquito breeding, leading to higher risk for spikes in vector borne diseases (I emphasise mosquito breeding should be looked at very seriously because mosquitoes can cause at least six diseases, dengue, zika, chikungunya , malaria, yellow fever and elephantiasis.)
•Excessive heat in September and November can cause discomfort and illness in vulnerable persons … crops and livestock to suffer; hence can reduce food production.
At the core of the problem is our schooling. There is national unwillingness to pay attention to local phenomena.
Several months ago I quoted Mr Michael Clarke, former Principal, Trinity College, who said, “In 1969, Geography (and History) was removed from the National Curriculum both in the primary schools and in the lower forms (Forms 1-3) in secondary schools.”
Parents and teachers would rather have their children reach secondary school focusing on the Maths and the Sciences without balancing them with the Humanities.
The idea being that scholarships are easily acquired. As a result many students have acquired higher education without knowledge about the weather patterns in Trinidad &Tobago.
Right now weather occurrences such as Petit Caréme are not part of the curricula at either CSEC or CAPE.
Imagine we have a heat wave and we don’t know it is our Petit Carême. That is not good.