Drought and high temperatures made December 2024 the third hottest December in over 50 years. Météo France has established an assessment with alarming figures and findings: a delayed period of rain, which should begin around February.
For several weeks, a stifling heat wave has been felt in Reunion Island, and many of us have therefore been hiding in the shade, looking for a little fresh air / “These days even when it's windy it seems like there's no air, the air is dry, even at home you can't breathe. We use the air conditioning, the electricity rises but it’s not serious” “All the Creoles feel the heat, we see with the drought there in Saint-André, it’s complicated for everyone.”
The severe heat observed causes a drought with a lack of rain and high temperatures. For example, the month of December 2024 is ranked 3rd among the driest Decembers in 53 years, we also note a significant difference in temperatures over this month of January compared to climatological normals over the same period.
A maximum temperature of 34 degrees in Pierrefonds instead of 31 degrees, or 29 degrees in Plaine des Cafres instead of the usual 22.5 “Global warming plays a role on temperatures, since we have years that are normally warmer in some years and colder in others, but temperatures that are hotter often break records because of climate change” explains Guillaume Jumaux, deputy head of the study and climatology division “Now on the dry air mass it is rather an anticyclone which is more powerful than usual to the south of the Mascarenes, which means that there is little humidity in the sector”.
A delay in the rainy season which widens a significant gap in the precipitation normally observed, with 16mm monthly in Salazie compared to a normal of 280mm, or even 85 in Takamaka compared to 611 usually.
The rainy season is expected for the month of February according to Météo France, we will have to wait a few more days before seeing the clouds again.
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