Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Temperature Controls in the City of San Salvador in El Salvador

El Salvador's capitol city of San Salvador is located at the latitude and longitude of 13.7 degrees North and 89.2 degrees West. Here the hottest month of the year is May coming in with an average daily high temperature of 92 degrees Fahrenheit , and October is the coolest with an average daily high of 88  degrees Fahrenheit. This information was found at https://weatherspark.com/averages/32651/San-Salvador-La-Paz-El-Salvador  and shows just how moderate El Salvador's climate is with an annual range of just 4 degrees F. This lack of temperature fluctuation is a result of the Pacific Ocean. With the majority of weather coming in from the west the air that travels into El Salvador is held at a much more constant temperature over the ocean then if it would have been traveling over land due to differential heating. The consistent temperature of the ocean regulates the temperature of the air above it keeping all the air blowing into El Salvador relatively consistent and giving the country a climate pattern to match. Additionally the seasonal migration of the sun does not effect El Salvador's temperature. Because of its short distance from the equator, the length of day and suns direction does not fluctuate much throughout the year causing very little climate change between seasons. By having relatively constant direct for equal amounts of the day year round, El Salvador does not experience the temperature fluctuations of the countries closer to the poles.

Although El Salvador has a rather moderate climate now, its location makes it very susceptible to changes is ocean currents, temperatures, and sea levels. El Salvador's main weather regulator is the Pacific Ocean, so minor change in this massive body of water would have a great effect on this country. If currents changed and it could greatly effect water temperature and with hot waters would cause more viscous storms or cold waters could dramatically decrease the average temperatures of this area. But a more immediate danger is the destruction of farm land by raising sea levels, according to The Independent over 1000 feet of farm land has been covered by the ocean since 2005. With sea levels expected to raise, farm land will continue to fall victim to the ocean putting a major strain on the economy as well as the food supply in El Salvador.