Costa Rica is under the influence of El Niño since October, and that, without a doubt, keeps the country under a scenario of rain deficit in a large part of the national territory.
On Monday the, National Meteorological Institute (IMN) and the National Emergency Commission (CNE) officially reiterated that the country is under the influence of the climate phenomenon and gave some details of how this will impact the population.
El Niño occurs through a warming of the waters of the Tropical Pacific, which translates into a deficit of rainfall.
The current situation is complicated, since in 2017 and 2018 there was already a deficit of rains. For example, in the first year there was a lack of rainfall in the Caribbean, while in the following year the deficit was focused in the Pacific.
In the quarter from December to February our country, together with Panama, had the months of least precipitation throughout Central America. Rainfall fell by almost 55% in these regions.
We found that the Limón station, if we analyze quarterly from December to February, has the highest deficit record since 1947,”
said Fallas.
It is expected that the warming of the Pacific waters – and therefore El Niño – will be maintained during the course of the year with a rise in temperatures of up to more than 0.5 degrees Celsius on average.
Central Pacific, Central Valley, Guanacaste and Isla del Coco will register temperatures above 0.5 to 1 C. This means that the conditions will be warmer than usual.