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Mauritius Climate
Mauritius has two kinds of climate. Below the 400-meter
level
on most of the windward (southeastern) side of the island
and
below 450 meters on the leeward side, a humid, subtropical
climate prevails. Above these altitudes, the climate is
more
temperate, but there is no sharp break, and variations in
exposure, altitude, and distance from the sea produce a
wide
range of patterns. The island has two seasons. The hot and
wet
summer lasts from November through April. February is the
warmest
month with temperatures averaging 27° C in the lowlands
and 22° C
on the plateau. Cyclone season runs from December through
March,
and the storms, which come from the northeast, have caused
much
destruction on the island over the years. For example,
Cyclone
Hollanda hit Mauritius February 10, 1994, leaving 1,400
persons
homeless, and damaging 60 percent of the electrical system
and 50
percent of the telephone network, as well as destroying
between
20 and 30 percent of the sugarcane plantation. The overall
cost
of this cyclone was estimated at US$81 million.
Winter, lasting from May through October, is cool and
dry,
influenced by the steady southeasterly trade winds. July
is the
coolest month and has average temperatures of 22° C in the
lowlands and 16° C in the plateau. Rainfall is abundant,
ranging
from 90 centimeters per year in the western lowlands to
500
centimeters in the tableland--an average of 200
centimeters per
year overall. Nonetheless, the high rate of evaporation
and
uneven distribution necessitate irrigation. Humidity is
frequently above 80 percent.
Mauritius has fertile soil that supports a variety of
vegetation. All but 1 percent of the native hardwood
forests that
once covered most of the island have been cut down,
threatening
the survival of several bird species. Sugarcane is now the
dominant crop, covering half the arable land, but other
cash and
food crops are grown as well. Coral reefs and marine life
off the
northwest coast have been hurt by pollution, mainly from
large
hotels. To prevent the destruction caused by rapid and
poorly
planned development and in response to foreign criticism
for its
lack of environmental protection, the government
established the
Ministry of the Environment in 1990. In July 1991, the
legislature passed the Environmental Protection Act, which
requires an environmental impact assessment for all new
projects.
The ministry has also established standards for existing
industry, followed by inspections. Steps are being taken
to
induce the construction industry to shift from the use of
coral
sand (in the early 1990s the building trade used 600,000
tons of
coral sand annually) to basaltic sand. Marine parks are
being
zoned to protect coral and marine life, and a sewerage
master
plan is being developed to prevent the discharge of
untreated
sewage into the ocean. Solid waste management is upgrading
the
handling of waste, and the principle of "the polluter must
pay"
is being introduced.
Data as of August 1994
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