The famous song by Noel Coward, “Mad Dogs and Englishmen Go Out in the Midday Sun” is quite appropriate for recent weather conditions throughout the Dominican Republic. After the pleasantly chilly local winter months, spring and summer bring sweltering heat.
Listin Diario reports that record hot temperatures have been set already in March and April. Some researchers are suggesting that possible natural disasters could follow a long stretch of such high temperatures.
According to the National Meteorological Office (Onamet), temperatures between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius (91.4F-95.8F), and in some places 38 and 39 Celsius (100F-102F) have been recorded. The technicians say between 1 March and 14 April new records were set in 43 communities nationwide.
Miguel Campusano and Juana Silie, technicians at Onamet, that the capital city (National District) went from an average of 32.8C to 33.5C in April. The old record at the Las Americas International Airport in eastern Santo Domingo was 33.9C and the new record is 36.6C.
Other record highs were set in El Higüero, next to the La Isabela International Airport in northern Santo Domingo; in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Loma de Cabrera, Montecristi, Barahona, and San Juan de la Maguana.
In Punta Cana, the highest temperature registered some 27 years ago was 33.3C (91.9F) and this April the reading was 36.6C (97.8F).
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Listin Diario
4 May 2020