BRIDGETOWN, – The Barbados-based Caribbean Drought & Precipitation Monitoring Network (CDPMN) is reporting increased rainfall across parts of the region, reducing short term drought impacts, particularly in the eastern Caribbean and the Guianas, and Jamaica.
CDPMN in its latest Caribbean Drought bulletin for the months, March, April and May, noted that rains are expected to continue during June to August, particularly in Belize, the Greater Antilles, the Leeward Islands and Guyana, with little concern over drought, at least until at the end of August.
“There may still be some need to be watchful regarding impacts from longer term drought that can influence groundwater and large rivers by the end of November in parts of the eastern Caribbean,” it said.
CDPMN, which was launched in 2009 under the Caribbean Water Initiative (CARIWIN), noted that apart from Tobago that was slightly dry, the islands of the eastern Caribbean were normal to wet.
It said Trinidad, Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Croix and St Thomas were normal; Grenada slight to moderately wet; Martinique normal to slightly wet; Guadeloupe and Anguilla moderately wet; and Antigua, St Kitts and St Maarten slightly wet.
Conditions in the Guianas ranged from moderately dry in eastern Coastal Guyana to very wet in north-western Suriname. Aruba was normal while Curacao was slightly wet.
Conditions in Puerto Rico ranged from moderately dry in the west to normal in the east, but in the Dominica Republic they ranged from exceptionally dry in the west to normal in the east. Conditions in Jamaica ranged from very wet in the west to slightly wet in the east, but Grand Cayman was severely dry.
For the three month period, apart from in Trinidad that was normal to slightly dry, rainfall in the islands of the eastern Caribbean was normal to above normal.
Conditions in Jamaica ranged from extremely wet in the west to moderately wet in the east. In Cuba, central areas were normal to slightly dry, western areas normal to extremely wet and eastern areas normal to slightly wet. Conditions in Belize ranged from severely dry in the west to moderately wet further north. (CMC)
