The prevailing hot weather conditions |22 April 2013

The process started in March but since there is a time lag for the atmosphere to absorb heat energy after the passage of the sun, the hot weather is normally felt weeks later i.e. in April, a month we locally and meteorologically describe as a transition period. During that period generally calm and still air also plays a role to enhance the prevailing hot weather conditions.  

However, this year the hot weather started as early as March, a month with normally has an average long term maximum temperature of about 31°C. On two consecutive occasions the temperature reached 33.7°C. This was not only the highest for the month but also a record since the national meteorological services started taking readings in 1972 (see accompanying graph shwoing extreme maximum temperature for the month of March). With little rains there is no major change in the weather patterns and temperatures continue to remain high. During the first week of April temperature reached a maximum of 34.2°C, exceeding the 31.5°C we normally experienced for the month. It was not far off from 34.4°C, the highest maximum temperature to be recorded in the Seychelles in November 1974.

And only recently, precisely on April 10, the temperature reached a new record high of 34.8°C. It is expected that the temperature will continue to remain relatively high and unpleasant until sometime in May when the south-east trade winds, which also coincide with the onset of the dry season, will set in and gradually cool down the atmospheric condition to an average temperature of 28-29°C.     

The national meteorological services believe that the high temperatures are attributed to the impact of climate change as a result of global warming, which will continue to have adverse consequences on livelihoods in the Seychelles over years to come if no concrete and legally binding commitment is reached by the international parties to reduce CO2 emissions to a level which will not interfere with the climate system.

The current warming trend in Seychelles is approximately 0.38°C/year     

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