Climate Change Trends in Colombia: A Case Study in Facatativá, Cundinamarca

Abstract

Climate change modifies the average climate behavior over a long period, generated by natural phenomena or anthropogenic causes. This change has an important impact on climate variables, such as temperature and precipitation, worldwide but also has various effects on the local scale. The purpose of this research was to determine climate behavior and the magnitude of climate change in the last 30 years in the municipality of Facatativá, Cundinamarca. Precipitation and temperature were analyzed using data from climatological stations around Facatativá, which belong to the Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM) and the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca. These data provided the average temperature in this municipality, between 9.2? and 14.0?, with an increasing trend between 0.00?/yr to the west and 0.03?/yr to the east of the municipality. The Precipitation ranged between 781 mm/yr and 1200 mm/yr, with an increasing trend of between 3.0 mm/yr in the west and 12.0 mm/yr in the northwest.