00:00The La Niña phenomenon is a climate pattern where cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures
00:05in the Pacific Ocean influence weather worldwide.
00:09For us in the Caribbean, this typically means increased rainfall, especially during the
00:14early months of the dry season.
00:16Wallace explained that these La Niña effects will combine with warmer sea surface temperatures
00:20in the tropical Atlantic, creating conditions favourable for above-normal rainfall.
00:26Northeastern Trinidad and Central Tobago are expected to see the heaviest rain, with totals
00:31exceeding 300 mm in some areas.
00:34Dry season totals are likely to be highest in those northern and eastern areas, and that
00:38will be the continuing trend from December.
00:41So favouring those areas such as Valencia, North Oro Pooch, Sandy Grande in Trinidad
00:46and Fort Tobago, you're looking at Charlottesville, Speyside, Roxburgh and Glamorgan.
00:51So overall, we're looking at totals ranging between 512 to 766 mm.
00:57Wallace also noted that early rainfall could bring challenges such as flash flooding, waterlogged
01:03soils and standing water in low-lying areas.
01:06However, he highlighted the overall importance of this rain for surface and groundwater recharge.
01:12They have been positively influencing our surface water flows.
01:15Personnel at WASE, you would have noticed that the rain gauges there have also been
01:20trending upwards.
01:21So we're likely to still see some reservoir recharge rates, hopefully increasing as we
01:27go through the latter half of December into January.
01:30The impacts of this wetter-than-usual dry season will extend beyond rainfall.
01:35Wallace explained that while the increased rain may reduce fire risks and improve air
01:39quality, it could also create breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the uncovered water containers
01:44and stagnant drains.
01:46This will likely increase the breeding areas for insect vectors, such as mosquitoes.
01:51So if you do have uncovered water storage devices, you still have to take those necessary
01:55precautions because we're expecting the rainfall amounts to be still around near normal to
02:00above normal.
02:01And for the wet conditions in 2025, this is basically reducing the chance of bush and
02:08forest fires and also reducing the effect of landfill fire potential as well, especially
02:15during the early part of the dry season, January through to March.
02:19While conditions are expected to dry out by late May, the early months of the 2025 dry
02:24season will bring wetter and warmer conditions than usual.
02:28Josette Deonanan, TV6 News.
