Long hot dry season grips Belize
If it seems like Belize keeps getting hotter and drier with every passing year, don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. It is. And this year appears to be no exception. Today we sent out Janelle Chanona to look at some of the science behind the sweat.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Is it only me or does it feel like it’s a million degrees outside?
I might be a couple degrees off but the experts agree that it’s hotter and drier than usual for this time of year. Of the last 13 years, 10 have been the warmest ever recorded. This year is no exception. On this graph, the purple bars show what we are suppose to be getting in rainfall, but the green bars show what ARE getting. Already, rivers and wells in Corozal, south Stann Creek and the Cayo districts are running dry.
Carlos Fuller, Chief Meteorologist
“The implications are for our sources of water, that the aquificers are not being replenished. The rivers could be lower than they should be, which would be very bad for our hydro generating facility and also for our sources of drinking water. We need to see if they are being threatened, especially the ground water, that it is not being recharged and in areas where people rely on wells, they might be running into trouble now.”
Other people running into trouble include farmers, especially those without access to irrigation. And as one vegetable farmer points out, the dry can be good but even if you’ve the water, you have to be careful.
Doug Fox, DNS Produce
“Dry climate is better for us than a wet climate. Less disease, we can apply the water when we want it and we can harvest in better conditions. Those are the reasons. If you have adequate pumping and adequate wells, it’s the way to farm in a dry climate.”
“If you are irrigating, you are using over 12,000 gallons of water a week per acre. So you have to have a large supply of water and if you are pumping heavily as a crop demands, then you will be lowering the water table and over a period of several years, then you will have a very serious effect on your water supply.”
But for now, the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) says there’s nothing to worry about, especially with their capacity doubling expansion set to come on stream in May.
Harry Bennett, Public Relations Manager, WASA
“The intake is not a problem. The capacity of the plant when we expand it will eventually reach 12 million gallons per day and intake in that amount of water is not expected to be a problem. That site was chosen because it’s an area, through hydrology studies have shown that it has the capacity to produce that amount of water.”
“We expect there will be problems in some of the rural areas
and we are basically there to assist where we can.”
Wild fires and regular household blazes are never too far behind really hot weather. WASA says improving fire-fighting capabilities was one of the main objectives of the expansion. However, low water pressure in the middle of the night will continue so as to build up the water in the tanks for the peak morning and evening demands. Bennett believes Belizeans will be good conservationists because unlike other utility companies, with WASA, the more you use, the more you pay.
Harry Bennett
“To name a few tips, probably resist watering your lawn every day, water them at night when you can make better use of them. Wash your car less frequently and monitor your house for leaks as well. We would like to encourage people to conserve, it will help us to ration water better through the dry season.”
Clear blue skies do mean good business for at least one sector of Belize’s economy, tourism. As the temperature continue to rise, so do the number of foreigners looking for a tan.
Anthony Mahler, Director of Product Development
“January has been up 21%, February 24% and March so far is up 50%. So I guess dry weather has been a part of that, along with our marketing activities.”
The extended forecast might be high and dry for the next two months but Carlos Fuller does have a little good news.
Carlos Fuller
“I believe we are going to get a bit of reprieve as we expect a cold front to pass through the country tomorrow reducing the temperatures, however, I don’t think we are going to get much rain out of it, unfortunately.”
Dry season usually ends in the first week of June…just in time for hurricane season, which this year is expected to be more active than usual.
