He Climate of the peaceful region of Colombia Is that which corresponds to the tropical rainforest, which covers a vast part of the four departments of Neogranadinos facing the Pacific Ocean from north to south.
These areas correspond specifically to the areas of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño.
On the other hand, the climate is very peculiar, since it does not stand out precisely because of the humidity, but because it is one of the rainiest areas of the world. It also has one of the highest rainfall figures on the planet in terms of equatorial regions.
Consequently, the climate of Colombia's peaceful region has a direct impact on both biodiversity and the daily lives of its inhabitants.
Likewise, the meteorology of its departments has unique features on the map of New Spain, which distinguish them from other tropical zones in the South American territory and, by extension, in the Colombian territory.
Geographical areas with the climate of the Pacific Region of Colombia
The departments that correspond to this climate, ie Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño have a territory equivalent to 7% of the Neogranadine surface, which translates into 83,170 square kilometers. The altitude is 1,845 meters above sea level
In addition, there are a number of cities that converge in this region, being the most important Guapi, Tumaco, Quibdó and Buenaventura. In fact, in the latter there are several rivers that cross it like the Patía, Baudó, Mira, San Juan and the Atrato, one of the Main rivers of the Andean zone .
These bodies of fluvial water tend to be deep and flowing, thus serving as channels of navigation between various populations and therefore are access routes to various parts of the Neogranadino Pacific.
In sum, the Pacific region borders on the north with Panama, on the south with Ecuador, on the east with the Neogranadian Andes, and on the west with the Pacific Ocean.
As a result, in this territory there are seven national parks with more than one million inhabitants. In addition, it has come to find another climate located between the monsoon and the humid tropical warm, although always dominating the humid tropical climate of the jungle.
General characteristics
Taking into account that the climate of the Pacific region is tropical humid, the main features are, in a summarized way:
- It is tropical, or rather intertropical, because it is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but within the equatorial regions.
- It is humid, because it has abundant precipitations throughout the year, which are comparable to the monsoons of India.
- It is jungle , Because its vegetation is what predominates in the landscape, with dense forests in which there is humidity and warm temperatures.
Precipitation
A characteristic of this climate is its precipitations. Summing up the previous aspects, this region has precipitations that reach up to 10,000 cubic millimeters per year, reason why its rainfall is frequent and in great quantities.
This means that in this part of Colombia there is more rain than in any other part of America and much more than there can be in any tropical territory located in Ecuador. In addition, here is a predominance of nocturnal coastal rains that bathe its four departments.
Wind, air humidity
When you observe any climatological map of Colombia, you can see that some strips of its coasts of the Pacific have winds that reach 5 meters per second, but when going east, the speed decreases to 3 meters per second.
In the Neogranadine peaceful region, the humidity of the air reaches values ranging from 85% to 90%, which is in line with its high rainfall, where there is overflowing water and river irrigation.
Solar irradiation, temperature
The solar radiation of this Colombian region has figures ranging from 3 to 4 KW-hour per square meter, with an average solar brightness ranging from 2 to 4 hours per day.
To this it is added that the Neogranadino Pacific, with its four departments, has temperatures that are normally hot in many regions, which have at least 22ºC and 24ºC in some parts. In most of them it can ascend to 28 ºC.
Departments
Chocó
The average temperature of this northern department of Colombia reaches 27 ºC (sometimes breaks the record with 28 ºC), reason why it has a warm environment that contrasts with its abundant rains, whose annual precipitations reach 9,000 millimeters, being rivaled By the Cherrapunji of India.
The constant presence of water is matched by the high humidity of the air, which combines with its humid tropical climate.
Cauca's Valley
In this Neogranadino department, temperatures are lower than in Choco, as they reach 24ºC, with a relative humidity of 75%. The annual precipitations do not fall of 938 millimeters, that correspond to the central zone, and do not rise of the 1,589 millimeters, that fall in the North zone.
In its Pacific coast the drought is not known, because the rains fall throughout the year, however, its temperature is close to 27 ºC. In its mountains there is climate of páramo.
Cauca
Its climate is tropical rainforest. In this Colombian department the precipitations are similar to the Chocó and Valleys of the Cauca, with identical irradiation and warm temperature.
Nariño
Aiming to the other three departments mentioned, the climate of Nariño has precipitations that are around 3,000 and 4,000 millimeters, with intermixed temperatures that depending on the zones can be temperate, moorland, cold or warm.
References
- Virtual Library Luis Ángel Arango (2000a). Characteristics of the Pacific Ocean off Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: Bank of the Republic. Retrieved from banrepcultural.org.
- Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia (2014a). Climatological Atlas of Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: IDEAM. Retrieved from atlas.ideam.gov.co.
- Kline, Harvey F.; Gilmore, Robert Louis et al (2017). Colombia; Climate. London, United Kingdom: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from britannica.com.
Poveda J., Germán; Carvajal S., Luis F. and Mesa S., Oscar J. (1997). Introduction to the climate of Colombia. Bogotá: National University of Colombia. - Trewartha, Glenn T. (1975). The climates of the lands of the Colombian Pacific. Bogotá, Colombia: Geographical Society of Colombia, Academy of Geographical Sciences. Recovered from sogeocol.edu.co.
- Unit of Energy Mining Planning (No year). Solar Radiation Atlas of Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: UPME. Retrieved from upme.gov.co.