By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 11th June 2024) – Local weather experts are expanding their monitoring efforts this year to include not only the hurricane season but also potential heat events. “We are not only just monitoring the hurricane season this year.
We are now going to be monitoring potential heat events. So the heat waves, the hot spells, so that we can advise the general public because heat is a major threat to the human body,” said Senior Meteorological Officer of the St.
Kitts Met Office Elmo Burke during a recent ‘Policing With You’ episodehosted by Inspector Shorna Francis Edwardsaired live on ZIZ Radio on Thursday 30th May 2024. – LOCAL NEWS – Burke noted the significant rise in temperatures experienced recently, attributing it to a broader trend of increasing global temperatures. “What we have been experiencing recently are some hot spells and heat waves as well, and we would like to advise the general public based on all climatological models, the years are getting hotter or warmer than normal.
So we are seeing the heat season starting earlier. For example, we started to see an increase in the heat from early May, and our heat season usually aligns with the hurricane season, running from June to about November but tapering off more so in September and October,” Burke explained.
“However, what we are now seeing because of the excessively warm portions, we are seeing a lot more heat spells or hot spells and heat waves. This is what we are looking at for this season, and it’s sad to say, based on a lot of the projections, it may become the norm where we’re going to be living in a hotter environment.
So it’s important for persons to start to consider heat as one of the risks and one of the threats that they will now have to pay close attention to when they’re planning their day-to-day activities or even their seasonal activities,” he added. The discussion also highlighted the broader implications of climate change on weather patterns.
Burke pointed out that climate change is causing more extreme weather events, with periods of intense heat and heavier rainfall. “…because of climate change, we’re now seeing a shift in terms of the norms. We’re seeing more extreme events, so we are seeing more hotter periods, and when it wets, we’re getting more wetter periods.
Additionally, we are seeing a lot more sinking air or high-pressure systems building up, almost as if you’re now operating in a pressure cooker. So, when you have those highpressure systems dominating and relatively light winds, you are going to feel excessively warm.
These are things that we are monitoring extremely closely, especially during the season,” Burke added. National Disaster Coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency,Abdias Samuel stressed the importance of public awareness and preparedness in light of these changing weather patterns. “…the reality is you know a lot of people are thinking that ‘Oh it’s just one year,’ and we if Inspector Edwards is scared imagine when we have to sit down with the scientists and do these modeling for the next 15 to 20 years …when you see those forecasts, projections, and probabilities because weather as we know it is dynamic…so it’s important for the general public to know that so what about that keyword climate change.” Front Page Image: Photo used for illustration purposes only depicts monitoring Sun heat waves via a thermometer. (Getty Images/Lamyai)
