Thursday, April 30, 2015

Climate Change Impacts in Costa Rica

     A major impact going in the Costa Rica and the immediate surrounding area that is affecting climate change is the marine ecosystems. This is a biological impact and scientists are very confident that it is greatly affecting the climate of the region. Some other risks going on in Costa Rica and the rest of Central America are water availability and flood problems, decreased food production and food quality, and the spread of vector-borne diseases. There are, however, some ways that these problems can be solved, or at least attempt to be solved. The water availability and flooding is due to extreme precipitation. This can be bettered by integrating a better water resource management, flood management, and early warning systems, including better weather forecasts in order to be better prepared. The decreased food production can be solved by the developing of new crop varieties that are more adapted to the changing climate. Lastly, the spread of vector-borne diseases can be helped by developing early warning systems to stop the spread of these diseases.

     Some of the most interesting things going on in Central America and the Caribbean are not exactly the trends you would expect. Most people picture this area as a tropical climate, which it is, that has nice rain showers and a steady rain stream. In fact, the interesting thing is that the rain in this region is actually decreasing instead of increasing or even remaining the same. The impact of this decreased rain production can only mean one thing. The climate is changing and either the countries in this region need to adapt to that change, or they are going to feel the consequences of Mother Nature. The map below shows this trend.


     Central America and South America are both in for some changes in the near future. To begin with, the annual rainfall, as I mentioned above, is decreasing in Central America, but happens to be increasing in South America. This is causing a slight warming in these areas and causing landslides and flooding in South America due to the slight increase in precipitation. Due to these changes, climate projections are suggesting an increase in temperatures for these two regions and either an increase or decrease in precipitation by the year 2100. The decrease in rainfall would cause water shortages in these regions which would affect not only the people directly, but also the agriculture in the region, which could be a devastating blow to the economy. Another major issue is that the increasing change in climate will also speed up the extinction rate of certain species in these regions. All of these trends can lead to sea level rise which, along with human activities on coastal and marine ecosystems, would be catastrophic to fish stocks, corals, mangroves, recreation and tourism, and also the spread of diseases throughout the region. These diseases, along with the changing climate, would cause increased mortality rate, morbidity, and disabilities in these countries. For many of these countries, the first step toward adaption to future climate changes is to reduce the vulnerability to present climate.

     By the end of the 21st century, South America could lose between 1% and 21% of its arable land. Think about that for a minute. South America could lose up to 1/5 of its arable land by the end of the century. Arable land is land that is able to be used for agriculture and farming. This means that the land that this entire region relies on for its own food source and economy will take an enormous blow. This loss of land would be due to both climate change and population growth. This could be slowed down and helped by a few things including better land management along with efficient agricultural practices, which the region does not have. I chose to talk about food production because food is not only vital to the lives of everyone in this area, but the economy could suffer dramatically if the export of these foods was suddenly halted. Many of the people in this region rely on agriculture to either provide food for their families or to provide income in order to be able to provide food, water, and shelter for their families. If 21% of the arable land in this region were to be lost, then 21% of the people relying on this land would also be in huge trouble. These people are not in trouble yet, but if nothing is done to slow down the loss of this land, then the people and their future generations will suffer the consequences. The chart below shows the decrease in agriculture (blue) over the next century. 


Friday, April 17, 2015

Severe Weather in Costa Rica

Tornadoes are extremely rare in Costa Rica and even those that do form are not very powerful. In order for a tornado to form it must follow a few steps. The first object that forms is a rotating body of air at the ground which occurs due to wind sheer, meaning that wind speeds increase as you increase in altitude. Secondly, horizontal rotating air is lifted off the ground by the updraft of a thunderstorm. Once the horizontal rotating air mass is nearly lifted vertically it is considered a mesocyclone. Lastly, the mesocyclone is fully developed in the updraft of a thunderstorm which completes the process of forming a tornado. Tornadoes, in the US, tend to move from Southwest to Northeast due to the upper level jet stream caused by the fronts of Canada and the US colliding. There have only been 3 recorded tornadoes in the past 10 years in Costa Rica, all category EF-0 meaning they ranged from 65-85 mph. They all left little damage, harmed no one, and quickly dissipated. Compared to Costa Rica, the US sees an average of 1253 tornadoes per year.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology
Although it is hard to see above, Costa Rica lies directly above South America on the left side of the mad and does not experience tornadoes like other countries in the world do (Those with the shaded areas experience more). Over the past 30 years, the number of tornadoes has increased quite dramatically. This could be due to global warming and the increase of areas with warm air which are breeding grounds for tornadoes.

Hurricanes on the other hand are a different kind of natural disaster that can be quite terrifying depending on their strength and where they hit. Tornadoes are formed in places with warm ocean temperatures (upwards of 80 degrees Fahrenheit), deep warm ocean layer (at least 200 meters in depth), and the coriolis of the earth is needed to initiate the spinning. All three of these have to be present, as well as the country lying between 5 degrees N or S and 20 degrees N or S. Costa Rica fits all of these criteria, except that the ocean isn't quite deep enough as it sits just under 200 meters in depth. Hurricanes have different names depending on where they are in the world. They are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans, Cyclones in the Indian Ocean near Australia, and Typhoons off the coast of China and Indonesia.  Here is a map to help better visualize:
http://fall2013elsalvador.blogspot.com/2013_11_01_archive.html
As you can see from the map, hurricanes travel from Southeast to Northwest in the US, primarily up the East coast. About 2 hurricanes hit the US each year while Costa Rica doesn't experience any.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology
http://www.weatherexplained.com/Vol-1/Hurricanes.html

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Daily Weather in Costa Rica

The forecast in San Jose, Costa Rica over this beautiful 3 day weekend is as follows. On Friday April 3rd, the forecasted high is 85 degrees Fahrenheit while the low is 68. The chance of precipitation is about 11%. On Saturday April 4th, the forecasted high is 86 with a low of 68. The chance of precipitation on Saturday is about 4%. On the final day of this weekend, April 5th (Easter), the forecasted high is 87 degrees with a low of 66. The chance of precipitation on Sunday is about 3%. The average pressure over these 3 days is 29.8 inHg (inches of Mercury). Overall, the pressure slightly decreased over this weekend. The average wind speed throughout these 3 days is about 15 mph with winds blowing Northeast  and the wind speed will slightly increase as the weekend goes on.


As you can see from the image above, there are no clouds very close to Costa Rica. The few that appear in the radar image are a good distance from the coast and are warm clouds. The green and blue spots inside these clouds show precipitation and, as you can see, Costa Rica is seeing none of that as it is all falling over the ocean. Although this picture is fairly zoomed out (in order to be able to see the clouds), there is quite a bit of vegetation throughout the country. Most of the country has at least some parts of green on the map while there are few areas that have no vegetation at all.


In the image above, notice that there are high pressure and low pressure isobars not too far from each other. The high pressure runs right along where the capital city of San Jose is located in the northern part of Costa Rica while the low pressure is located over the Northwestern part of South America. In the image below, you can see many more pressure systems and also fronts because of the larger scale. Unfortunately, there wasn't a larger scale map that included Costa Rica so I picked the map that came the closest to Central America. In the large scale map there are many more low pressure systems that run throughout the united states in comparison to the high pressure systems. There are also cold fronts located throughout these pressure systems that also run along the United States. All of these pressure systems in fronts shown in the below image are located to the North of Costa Rica.



Thursday, March 19, 2015

Global and Local Winds in Costa Rica

     Costa Rica is located in the Northern Hemisphere and lies between latitudes ranging from 8 degrees North to 11.04 degrees North, and longitudes ranging from 82.36 degrees West to 85.56 degrees West. In respect to atmospheric cells, Costa Rica is situated in the Hadley Cell. This cell ranges from the equator to about 30 degrees in latitude, which places Costa Rica well in that range. The wind belt in which Costa Rica is located is the Northeasterly Trade Winds, meaning the winds are coming from the Northeast and blowing towards the West. These trade winds occur right at or near the equator in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Costa Rica is also located near a low main pressure belt, which runs along the equator. It is also located near a “special” area known as the Doldrums, where the trade winds from the Northern Hemisphere meet the trade winds from the Southern Hemisphere.

     As I mentioned earlier, Costa Rica is located in the Hadley Cell, very close to the equator around the 8-11 degrees North latitude range. Due to it being surrounded by water on the east and west and the winds coming from the east, the west side of the country tends to be drier due to the mountains stopping a majority of the water (in the form of clouds) that it blown in from the east. The fact that Costa Rica is located so close to the equator keeps the climate nice and warm, while the trade winds cool it down and make it bearable to live in around a comfortable 70-80 degrees.

     Costa Rica is a country that consists of a few mountains and a few more volcanoes. Five types of winds that could be associated with these elevated formations could be mountain breezes, valley breezes, Eddies, Chinook winds (associated primarily with the Rocky Mountains), and Katabatic winds. Out of these five, Costa Rica experiences mountain breezes and valley breezes along with occasional Eddies. These breezes flow up or down the mountains and volcanoes, depending on the breeze, and tend to keep the valley a nice moderate temperature throughout the year. Along with the mountains and volcanoes, the country is surrounded by water on both sides giving it two coastlines. The two breezes associated with these coastlines are sea breezes and land breezes and Costa Rica experiences both of them. 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Typical Weather and Tourism in Costa Rica

     In Costa Rica, the Winter Solstice takes place on December 21 of this year (2015). The average maximum temperature for December is 28.4 degrees Celsius (about 83 degrees Fahrenheit), while the average minimum temperature for December is 19.6 degrees Celsius (about 67 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature during this month has a beautiful range of not too hot, to not too cold. I'm sure there are millions of people in the world that wish they had a December that was this warm and the temperature never even got close to freezing. The average precipitation during this month is 143 mm or about 5.6 inches, which isn't too bad either for a winter month.
     
     The Summer Solstice for Costa Rica occurs on June 21 of this year. The average maximum daily temperature is 29.3 degrees Celsius (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit) in June, while the average minimum temperature comes to a mild 20.8 degrees Celsius (about 69 degrees Fahrenheit). Most people would assume that by getting the warm winter, like that of Costa Rica, that it would come with a blistering hot summer, but that's not the case in a tropical climate. The temperature is hardly any different, keeping that beautiful range. The main difference we see in the summer, however, is that the precipitation more than doubles from the 143 mm (5.6 inches) in December to 300 mm (about 11.8 inches) in June.

     Spring Equinox in Costa Rica occurs on March 20 of this year. In March, the average maximum temperature for Costa Rica is 30.7 degrees Celsius (about 87 degrees Fahrenheit), while the average minimum temperature is 19.8 degrees Celsius (about 67 degrees Fahrenheit). March and April are the hottest months on average for Costa Rica. Between the hottest and coolest months, there is hardly a difference in temperature. The average precipitation in March is also the lowest of any month in the year with 58.3 mm or about 2.3 inches.

     Autumnal Equinox for Costa Rica takes place on September 23 of this year. The average maximum temperature for September is 29.2 degrees Celsius (about 85 degrees Fahrenheit), while the average minimum temperature is 20.3 degrees Celsius (about 69 degrees Fahrenheit). Most might look at these temperatures and think that it would be the best time to go because it has the nicest difference between the average maximum and minimum temperatures along with summer and possibly cheaper travel expenses, but they wouldn't have done their research. The average precipitation for the month of September is 341.9 mm or about 13.5 inches.

     If you decided to travel to Costa Rica, I would highly recommend coming during the month of March if possible. This is the month with the lowest precipitation, meaning you won't be as limited with any activities you plan on doing. I recommend, when visiting Costa Rica, to visit some of the fabulous volcanic hot springs if you are looking to relax, or a nice rafting trip if you are more of a thrill-seeker. Luckily, by going in March, you would be avoiding hurricane season. The only potential hazards you would have to be aware of, although not weather hazards, are volcanoes and earthquakes, both of which are unpredictable. 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?





Sources:

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Temperature Controls in the cities of San Jose in Costa Rica

     This post will be about the temperature controls in the capital city of Panama in Costa Rica. I will be talking about the affects that the latitude, elevation, wind, and nearby oceans have on the overall climate. I will also be talking about the rainfall patterns as well as the warmest and coolest months of the year in San Jose.

     As I mentioned earlier, the capital of Costa Rica is San Jose. The latitude of San Jose is 9.55 degrees North and its longitude is 84.02 degrees West. The warmest moths in my city April, May, and June with an average monthly temperature of 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius), while the coolest months in my city are December and January with an average of 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). Based on the information provided above, we can conclude that the annual range of temperature for San Jose is 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius). The website where I found this information is www.weatherbase.com.

     One of the main temperature controls that affects San Jose is its elevation. The elevation, which is just under 4,000 feet, keeps the climate mild. The elevation of the city also keeps the range of temperature very moderate and helps the city remain a fairly constant temperature throughout the year. One of the temperature controls that does not affect San Jose is its cloud cover. Due to its location in Costa Rica, the city isn't harshly affected by the presence of clouds.

     There is one major factor that could really affect the future temperatures of Costa Rica. That factor is the rise of sea levels. According to Al Gore, in An Inconvenient Truth, sea levels could rise up to 20 feet if the ice caps in Greenland completely melt. If this happens, much of the coastline of Costa Rica will become submerged which will make the country thinner. This will directly affect the weather in the center of the country because it will all become coastal climate instead of tropical.

     As you can see, the climate is greatly affected by many temperature controls in San Jose and the rest of Costa Rica. Whether it is the altitude, the latitude, or the nearby ocean, they all have an impact on the overall climate of San Jose. Even with all of these temperature controls, however, it only takes one major weather event to change everything.