Climate
The temperature of St. John's is relatively low due to several factors such as high latitude. Despite low temperatures, St. John's still has a maritime climate. The city has a temperature range of 19.7 °C which justifies it as maritime due to the temperature range being under 25 °C (Anton Eliassen, 2013) . The annual precipitation of St. John's is 1528 mm which also shows that the climate is maritime (St. John's Climate History,2013). Finally, looking at the climate graph, it is evident that it precipitates more in the winter months. These three conditions prove that St. John's is a maritime climate.
The temperature of St. John's is relatively low due to several factors such as high latitude. Despite low temperatures, St. John's still has a maritime climate. The city has a temperature range of 19.7 °C which justifies it as maritime due to the temperature range being under 25 °C (Anton Eliassen, 2013) . The annual precipitation of St. John's is 1528 mm which also shows that the climate is maritime (St. John's Climate History,2013). Finally, looking at the climate graph, it is evident that it precipitates more in the winter months. These three conditions prove that St. John's is a maritime climate.
Factors that Affect Climate
Looking at the climate graph, the average temperature for each month is fairly low. This is due to the fact that St. John's is located high in latitude. How does this work? Since the Earth is on a slant, the sun's rays become more disperse in higher latitudes whilst being concentrated near the equator. This results in lower temperatures in high latitudes and hot temperatures in low latitudes. Once again looking at the climate graph, the climate range is not extremely large. This is due to the moderating effect. St. John's is located right next to a massive body of water, the Atlantic Ocean. The moderating essentially means that the body of water absorbs hot/cold air (dependent on what season) and releases it back when needed to keep the temperatures moderate. |
St. John's Growing Season
Each fruit and vegetables requires different conditions in order to grow. Looking at conditions for several types of vegetables and fruits, it is evident that the growing season for the majority of plants is May to August (Molly Watson, n.d.) where the temperature is high and still is decent precipitation. For more detail, please refer to the chart on the left. |
Hazards/Natural Disasters that can Occur
A natural hazard that can occur is heavy fog. This is a safety hazard for travelling ships. Heavy fog is caused when warm and cold water meet and in this case, when the Gulf Stream (warm) and the Labrador Current (cold) meet. Unlike most cities, St. John's is only prone to one natural disaster and that is hurricanes. Due to St. John's exposure to the Atlantic, as well as having the warm Gulf Stream and cold Labrador Current meet, there is an increased risk of hurricanes. Also, since St. John's is surrounded by water, hurricanes can travel from elsewhere to Newfoundland. For example, in 2010, hurricane Igor (category 4) hit Newfoundland. It caused roads to be flooded, isolated 150 communities, killed one person and caused $200 million worth of damage (Stats Can, 2010). |
Effects of Climate Change
As humans produce more greenhouse gases, climate change goes in affect. If not all, then many cities will be affected by climate including St. John's. Some consequences of climate change includes (Henrich-Koenis, G, 2015):
- higher temperatures affect growing season
- Rising sea levels can potentially submerge parts of the city
- Can cause stronger storms
- Economic loss (ex. fishing)
As humans produce more greenhouse gases, climate change goes in affect. If not all, then many cities will be affected by climate including St. John's. Some consequences of climate change includes (Henrich-Koenis, G, 2015):
- higher temperatures affect growing season
- Rising sea levels can potentially submerge parts of the city
- Can cause stronger storms
- Economic loss (ex. fishing)