Country

Jamaica

Explore historical and projected climate data, climate data by sector, impacts, key vulnerabilities and what adaptation measures are being taken. Explore the overview for a general context of how climate change is affecting Jamaica.

Country Context

Jamaica is an island lies 145 kilometers south of Cuba between latitude 17°35’ to 18°35’ North and longitude 76° to 78°30’ West. It is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea with a total landmass of 10,991 km2. The country is mostly mountainous with several ragged mountain ranges from which most of the 120 rivers flow from. In 2016 Jamaica's population was 2.88 million, which represent an annual population growth of 0.33%. In 2015, about 41% of all land in Jamaica was agricultural land and 31% was forest area. In 2017, the service sector employed 66% of the population while the agriculture sector employed 18.6% and industry employed 15.4%. Jamaica’s economy is heavily dependent on service which is backed by its political stability. The tourism industry and remittances make up the bulk of its GDP. Tourism alone contributed an estimated foreign exchange earnings of US$2.4 billion in 2016.

In 2015, Jamaica adopted a Climate Change Policy Framework intended to support the Vision 2030, mainstream climate change into sectoral and financial planning, and build the capacity of sectoral institutions to develop and implement their own climate change adaptation and mitigation plans. The country ratified the Paris Agreement and submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2017. 

Country level data at a glance

Climate Data

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Historical Trends

The section provides access to historical climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation from 1900 to 2016.

Mean rainfall over Jamaica has decreased in June, July, August, September, October and November by 6.2 and 4.5 mm per month [4.4 and 2.0%] and per decade respectively, but these trends are not statistically significant.

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Projected Trends

The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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The section provides access to future climate datasets for both temperature and precipitation and their statistical derivatives for various timeframes and emission scenarios from 2020 to 2099.

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Climate by Sector

This section contains information from multiple climate indicators and indices relevant for key economic sectors. Simple narratives can help you interpret and extract summaries of potential climate change impacts at the sector level.

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Vulnerability

This section allows you to explore the susceptibility of livelihoods and natural systems to impacts from climate variability and change and facilitate the exploration of socioeconomic and development data and its relationships with natural hazards vulnerable areas.

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Impacts

This section allows you to explore the climate information from multiple climate indicators and present them with simple, embedded interpretation for an informative, high-level summary of the potential for future climate change impacts on key socioeconomic sectors.

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Adaptation

This section helps you grasp key national adaptation policies and reports, explore options for key sectors, and understand current adaptation gaps and needs for enhanced climate smart planning.

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