by Katalina Siasau
Tonga is experiencing unusually cold weather, with cool days and cooler nights, and local people are trying to keep warm.
A low of 9.3°C, recorded last Sunday 30 July, at the village of Lapaha on Tongatapu was the lowest on record for the year for the whole of Tonga, Tonga Meteorological Services told Matangi Tonga today.
It is also second lowest to the national minimum temperature record, which stands at 8.7°C and was recorded on 10 September 1994, at Fua’amotu, during the 1994/95 El Niño.
The average temperature in July for Tongatapu is 21°C (averages are updated every decade).
Tonga Meteorology have also issued an El Niño Alert for Tonga last month. Meaning that there is a 70% chance of El Niño happening before the end of the year. An El Niño event can last between 9 to 12 months from when it is declared.
“Nights are unusually cooler now, and climate is leaning towards El Niño conditions.”
“There is what’s called the Subtropical Ridge, usually located south of Tonga, around 30 degrees south between Tonga and New Zealand. At the subtropical ridge, air sinks and so it is an area of predominantly fine weather.”
Tonga Meteorology said this ridge shifts north near Tonga during winter months like now, and has a direct influence on Tonga’s climate and causes our dry season.
"During winter, and when El Niño and near El Niño are prevailing like now, the trade winds associated with the Subtropical Ridge weaken, and therefore, we experience a lot of clear, calm nights. Clear calm night causes radiative cooling. This cooling is caused by radiation stored from the sun during the day in the soil escaping back into space. We have seen this colder night time temperature for the last four to six weeks and have been experiencing below 12°C, which is not common during normal winter seasons."
Meanwhile, there were calls for help to provide extra blankets for the Hu’atolitoli Prison and the Psychiatric Ward from Vaiola Hospital.
HRH Princess Lātūfuipeka responded with batches of blankets for the prisoners, and Tonga Red Cross responded as well to the Psychiatric Ward in Vaiola Hospital.
Tonga Meteorology advised it will be more likely that the cold will continue on with this El Niño season.
Market vendors are wrapping up. At a Nuku'alofa outdoor market, Mele and Sosefo told Matangi Tonga they had started to wear quadruple layers of warm clothes since Monday this week due to the unusual cold.
