Andaman and Nicobar - Climate
The islands have a tropical climate. The climate of the islands can be defined as humid, tropical coastal climate. The islands receive rainfall from both the south west and north east monsoons and maximum precipitation is between May & December.
These islands are blessed with the bounties of both south-west and north-east monsoons. The South-west Monsoon sets in Andaman Nicobar islands towards the end of May and the North-east Monsoon in November. There is no fury of hot summer, no chilling winter, no water clogging or traffic jams. For those who want to enjoy boating, swimming, snorkeling, sightseeing all 12 months is season. North Indians find relief from burning heat and chilling winter if they visit the island from May/June/July and in December/January. Season for nature lovers is May to December when forest is lush green and waterfalls are at their prime. Divers can enjoy the best during December to April and bird watchers during winter times.
Andaman has a moderate temperature all through the year within the range of 23°C to 31°C. It has a tropical climate. There are no severe climate conditions except for tropical storms and rains in late summers and monsoons. Summers (March to May) are warm but pleasant with sea breeze and have humidity level about 80%. It is suitable for all kinds of tourist activities.
Monsoon season is also recommended for visit to Andaman & Nicobar Islands as tourist can have more options both indoors and outdoors. There is no water clogging or traffic jams. The lush green vegetation and scenic beauty of the islands are more predominant in monsoon. Monsoons (May to August) and Post Monsoons (September to November) accompany medium to heavy rain falls. Hoteliers in Andamans offer attractive discounts during monsoon seasons. Winters (December to February) are not chilly and ideal for sightseeing.
It is evident that Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI), with their unique geo-ecological settings, sit within a ‘thick disaster probability envelope’. The 2004 tsunami is a case in point. Climate change risks and uncertainties exacerbate the ‘thicknesses’ of this envelope and pose additional environmental and developmental challenges for the Island territory.
The impacts may manifest in a variety of ways in the Islands that may range from escalated exposure to external shocks and extreme weather events, sea level rise and associated issues of coastal erosion, increased ‘storm surges’ and inundation of low-lying areas, salt water intrusion, diminished fresh water supply, coral bleaching and breaching, deterioration in ecosystem functions, reduced opportunities for ecosystem-based livelihoods, excessive dependence on external resource supply, unpredictable crop yields, uncertainty over the functioning of other sensitive sectors such as tourism and fisheries, increased malnutrition and heat stress, etc.
Once climate change impacts start manifesting, the costs for building defence mechanisms against it will be prohibitively high. For instance, upgrading coastal systems and defences against storms and storm surges would require substantial capital investment and ongoing maintenance. As various models predict, at higher levels of warming and increased rates of sea level rise, the risks will become increasingly serious. Infrastructure damage will rise sharply in a warmer world, because of the combined effects of increasing potency of the storms and the increasing vulnerability of infrastructure and growth engines (most of which are located along the coast) to other climate-related events.11 This situation would be further worsened by the insularity and isolation of the Islands from mainland, associated high transportation and communication costs, expensive public administration and infrastructure investments, and limited opportunities to create sustainable and self-reliant economies of scale.
Adaptive capacity in the context of ANI would mean the ability of Andaman administration, sectoral institutions, agencies, local communities, natural systems, and individuals to prepare for and adjust to potential adverse effects (e.g. increased storm surges and coastal erosion) from climate change and take advantage of opportunities that may arise (e.g. some studies suggest that the coconut productivity may increase with marginal increase in temperature).
Climate change will increase the frequency and scale of extreme weather events in ANI, including erratic precipitation, storm surges, and tropical cyclones. The Island is already under critical risk of tsunami-genic waves. Though the cause of tsunami need not always be attributed to climate change, it often works in tandem with climate-related risks and increases the overall vulnerability in ANI with implications for the well-being of human and natural systems. ANI will require an improved information base to better manage the changing risks and uncertainty. ANI witnessed the worst incident of tsunami in 2004, causing unforeseen damages to life and property. ANI already has basic capacities and systems (though these need to be strengthened significantly) to deal with disasters. Climate change threats and uncertainties need to be integrated deeply into that.
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