Chief Hydromet Officer Dr. Garvin Cummings on Monday confirmed that the country is not experiencing a heat wave. According to Dr. Cummings, the unusually hot temperatures are not as severe to be considered a heat wave.
Dr. Cummings spoke with the News Room at his office on Brickdam Street in Georgetown on Monday.
He said there have been no indicators to suggest that the temperatures have increased.
The hydromet service is the only source of official weather and climate change information in Guyana.
“At hydromet we are referring to the heat wave as fake news; we did not issue a forecast for above normal temperatures, because there were no indicators to suggest the temperatures to be above maximum.
“However, the current climate conditions have caused relative humidity to be very high and this would make any person in the outdoors feel uncomfortable, hot and sweaty,” Dr. Cummings said.
Dr. Cummings explained that relative humidity is a reflection of the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and with a buildup of moisture in the atmosphere there is a restriction of the exit of solar radiation from the earth’s environment.
“So we have a lot of reflectivity and this causes the temperature to be driven up. It is sort of if the heat is being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and cannot escape and therefore you feel a bit hotter than the actual temperature,” Dr. Cummings said.
The Chief Hydromet Officer said that New Amsterdam and Lethem have recorded relatively high temperatures but not at a level to be considered a heat wave.
“New Amsterdam and Lethem in the last two weeks have recorded temperatures between 33 and 34 degrees on some days.
“This is not really considered to be extreme for this time of the year.
“We are after all in the dry season and we would expect that temperatures would soar during this period of time.”
Dr. Cummings recommends that persons should exercise the necessary precautions, such as staying hydrated, dressing appropriately and avoiding too much exposure to the heat.
