The heat and humidity experienced over the past few days, particularly in the Central Division, have been the topic of conversation among people, young and old.
There is a reason for this as the Fiji Meteorological Service explains the main driver of this discomforting climate observed over the Fiji group is the northwesterly wind flow prevailing over the country.
It says warm and moist air masses from the equator and near-equatorial region have been persistently blowing over the country in the past three days.
“The maximum air temperature in the majority of the country was above 31 degrees Celsius on Monday. However, it has been particularly warm in the Central Division with most of the stations registering above 34 degrees Celsius. RKS in Lodoni recorded a maximum air temperature of 35.6 degrees Celsius on Monday,” stated the national weather forecasting centre in Nadi.
“This exceptional hot condition in the Central Division is due to a process called adiabatic heating.
“As the air moves down to lower altitudes after passing the mountain ranges, the pressure increases, which decreases the volume of air.
“As air is compressed, it heats. This is also the reason why normally the Western Division tends to be hotter than the Central Division when the dominant southeasterly winds prevail over the county.”
The weatherman says this “exceptionally hot condition” over the Central Division is likely to ease in the next few days with the expected change in wind direction to the southeast.
