This page presents Jamaica''s climate context for the current climatology, 1991
This page presents Jamaica''s projected climate. The Mean Projections page
Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Jamaica.
Jamaica is likely to undergo a warming and drying trend and is expected to endure more frequent droughts, rainfalls with increased intensity, and rising sea levels. The North Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) coincides with Jamaica''s rainy season and the Caribbean seas highest levels of conducive and convective activity. Prolonged rainfall events of more than two days are associated with 67% of severe flooding events (46% of these were from hurricanes and tropical depressions). Instances of extreme rainfall can cause flooding. (State of the Jamaican Climate)
This section provides a summary of key natural hazards and their associated socioeconomic impacts in a given country. And it allows quick evaluation of most vulnerable areas through the spatial comparison of natural hazard data with development data, thereby identifying exposed livelihoods and natural systems.
The charts provide overview of the most frequent natural disaster in a given country and understand the impacts of those disasters on human populations.
Climate change is now recognized to have a significant impact on disaster management efforts and pose a significant threat to the efforts to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable populations. The demands of disaster risk management are such that concise, clear, and reliable information is crucial. The information presented here offers insight into the frequency, impact and occurrence of natural hazards. Source (PDF)
This page presents Jamaica''sclimate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data rmation should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual andseasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by theClimatic Research Unit (CRU)of University of East Anglia.Datais presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
In Jamaica, peak temperatures occur during summer months of June to September while the coolest temperatures occur during winter between December through March. The Northern portions of the island tend to be exposed to colder temperatures from occasional surges of cool air from continental North America during fall and winter months. There exists a dry season between December through March and a rainy season between April through November which are divided into early rainfall and late rainfall seasons. There exists a mid-summer minimum around July that separates early and late wet seasons. Most of Jamaica''s rainfall occurs during the wet season (May and October) and experiences its driest conditions in February and March. (State of the Jamaican Climate)
Cockpit Country landscape. Jamaica.
Port of Spain, 27 June 2024–Arlette Dunkley-Fullerton is a farmer in Jamaica''s Cockpit Country KBA, and over the 20 years that she has lived there, she has been observing changes in rainfall patterns and the growing seasons of crops. "The work that Jamaica Environment Trust did to help us plan for climate change in our area was not just informative about climate change, it was an eye-opener, especially for the group members," says Arlette, who is also the Vice President of the South East Cockpit Country Local Forest Management Committee Benevolent Society.
This community-based group supports national forest conservation goals and promotes sustainable alternative livelihoods for residents of the southeast section of the Cockpit Country Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), many of whom have traditionally depended heavily on forest resources as part of their livelihood strategies.
Importance of the Cockpit Country
The Cockpit Country is important to Jamaica for several reasons. Forty per cent of Western Jamaica''s water supply comes from the area. It is Jamaica''s largest remaining contiguous rainforest. It has an estimated 1,500 vascular plant species, of which 400 are endemic, with many individual hilltops of the karst landscape displaying local/niche endemism. The Cockpit Country provides habitats for all 28 of Jamaica''s endemic land birds and has the highest local diversity of amphibians and reptiles on the island. Thirteen of Jamaica''s 21 bat species are obligate cave dwellers, including three of the four endemics.
This KBA also provides numerous communities with livelihood opportunities, especially for agriculture. Subsistence farmers cultivate the valley bottoms, with the primary crop being yams. In some cases, this practice has had a detrimental effect on the biodiversity of the Cockpit Country.
Understanding localised impacts of a global phenomenon
Although climate change has been considered a threat to Cockpit Country''s biological diversity, no studies had been done to assess and properly understand the localised impact of climate change on this important area so that an adaptation plan could be prepared and communities empowered with the knowledge to adapt to climate change, maintain their livelihoods and preserve the biodiversity of the Cockpit Country for their survival.
In the face of this information gap, enter the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), a national advocacy and environmental education organisation that has been part of a stakeholder coalition dedicated to protecting and preserving the Cockpit Country and safeguarding its communities. With support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), JET worked on enhancing protected area management and socioeconomic planning in the southeast section of the Cockpit Country. This involved drawing on scientific information and local knowledge to address the historical impacts of climate change on biodiversity and agriculture, particularly those resulting from prolonged drought cycles and intensified rainfall events.
Through a series of workshops, meetings and training sessions under the project, community members learned about climate change, how it is currently affecting the Cockpit Country''s biodiversity and their livelihoods and how it will continue to affect them. They gained insights into the connections between climate change impacts on the environment and the consequences of farming practices.
During discussions and workshops, community members reflected on how crop types have evolved over time, revealing that while yam farming currently dominates, it wasn''t always the primary form of agriculture. This historical perspective was useful in helping community members appreciate that with climate change, they may need to make further adjustments to include the cultivation of climate-resilient crops and adopt more climate-smart and sustainable farming practices.
JET brought in the Climate Studies Group Mona of the University of the West Indies to prepare a localised climate change assessment for the Cockpit Country and projections for three future timeframes: near-term (2030-2039), medium-term (2050-2059), and the end of the century (2080 - 2097). JET then translated the scientific and technical information into easily disseminated and digestible material for community meetings in the form of presentations, videos, and brochures on what climate change is all about and how they can adapt.
Community planning with scientific insights and local knowledge
In a marriage of scientific information and local knowledge, JET and community members prepared a vulnerability assessment and local adaptation plan for communities of the southeast section of the Cockpit Country, including Troy, Wilson''s Run, New Hope, Warsop, Litchfield, Wait-a-bit and Wirefence. The adaptation plan outlines actions that can benefit community livelihoods and maintain biodiversity.
The community greatly appreciated the participatory approach to developing the adaptation plan "as we got the chance to suggest our own solutions to the problem," says Arlette. Leading by example, she is establishing her own rainwater harvesting system, one of the adaptation methods discussed in community workshops.
Arlette notes that incorporating live trees into yam farming was yet another technique raised and discussed in community meetings. Building on the JET project, the South East Cockpit Country Local Forest Management Committee Benevolent Society has developed and secured approval from the CEPF for a follow-up project, focusing on encouraging the use of live yam sticks in yam cultivation.
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