Guyana Climate Change and Disaster Risks
Guyana Climate Background
According to the national inventory from 1994, Guyana contributes only a little amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Increases in world mean temperatures, on the other hand, might have a considerable impact, particularly on the coastal plain and activities such as Guyana’s dominating agriculture sector.
Guyana is a tropical country located on South America’s northeastern coast. It has a total area of 214,970 square kilometers and is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Suriname, on the west by Venezuela, and on the south by Brazil. The Atlantic Coastline stretches for 430 kilometers. This coast, which is 1.4 meters below the Atlantic Ocean’s mean high tide level, is particularly prone to floods, erosion, and salinization. The remaining parts of this rather flat coast are covered by mangrove, sand, and shell beaches, which are protected by concrete and earthen sea-defense buildings.
Guyana, South America’s sole English-speaking country, has a total land mass of 21.5 million hectares, a population of over 750,000 (2020), and a population density of less than four people per square kilometer. With 18.39 million hectares of tropical forest, the country is considered heavily forested. Guyana has had historically low rates of deforestation due to prudent management. Guyana’s natural resources are abundant, and the country’s economy is mainly reliant on gold, bauxite, and agricultural exports.
Following a series of significant finds offshore beginning in 2015, Guyana became one of the top 20 largest oil and gas resource holders in the world. The Equatorial Trough (ET) Zone encompasses Guyana. Its weather and climate are mostly governed by the seasonal movements of this trough and its associated Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone of Rainbands (ITCZ). Guyana has a humid tropical climate with moderate temperatures and plenty of rain, but no extremes of hot or cold. Guyana is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and other negative effects of climate change, putting its agriculture economy at risk.
Guyana Climate
The climate backdrop for Guyana for the present climatology, 1991-2020, based on observable, historical data. In order to grasp future climate scenarios and expected change, information should be used to establish a strong understanding of current climatic circumstances. Data for the present climatology can be visualized using regional variation, the seasonal cycle, or a time series. Both annual and seasonal data are accessible for analysis. The data is aggregated at a national level by default.
Guyana has a humid tropical climate with moderate temperatures and plenty of rain, but no extremes of hot or cold. Temperatures range from 16 to 34 degrees Celsius, with lower temperatures in the higher elevations. Temperatures in the air range from 16°C to 34°C, with lower temperatures in the higher elevations. The stabilizing effect of the water and the North Eastern Trade Winds keep temperatures on the coast between 22°C and 31°C. These Trade Breezes blow at a speed of 10 miles per hour along the shore, then slow down as they move interior, where light winds prevail.
Temperature
Guyana’s mean annual air temperature has risen by 0.3°C since 1960, equating to an average rate of 0.07°C per decade, slightly slower than the global average of 0.08°C per decade recently, with the biggest changes occurring in the dry season of August-September (0.10°C per decade).
Furthermore, on the shore, where the marine impact is strongest, average diurnal temperature changes are lower, with maximum temperatures averaging 29.6°C and daily temperatures averaging 24°C.
The lowest daily average temperatures, on the other hand, are found in the upper interior mountainous regions, where daily maximum temperatures average 28.6°C and daily minimum temperatures average 19.6°C.
Precipitation
The average annual rainfall ranges from 1,600 mm to 3,000 mm, with significant regional variation. Mid-April to the end of July and mid-November to January are the rainy seasons. Primary dry (long) season and secondary dry (short) season are terms used to describe the times in between.
Floods and droughts pose the greatest threat to Guyana. In recent years, Guyana has been hit by a slew of floods, many of which have been exacerbated by La Nia episodes. Flooding is a constant hazard along the country’s low-lying coastline, which is 2 meters below sea level in certain places. Coastal areas will be inundated, salty intrusion into surface and ground water sources will occur, and existing sea defenses will be overwhelmed.
Guyana Climate Change and Disaster Risks
Tropical waves traveling through the Atlantic occasionally hit Guyana during hurricane season, causing heavy rainfall and flooding in coastal communities.
Every year, drought strikes Guyana, which is highly influenced by the El Nio Southern Oscillation. Drought will almost certainly be exacerbated further by projected temperature rises.The low-lying coastal plains of Guyana are vulnerable to rising sea levels.
Guyana Climate Change and Disaster Impacts
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.
Water
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.
Guyana Climate Change -Video
Coastal Impacts
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.org
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