The South American city that experiences four seasons in 24 hours

Quito, ECUADOR: It is generally expected that a new season will always spring up after a few months giving way to a newer weather pattern.

This gives way for people in an area for people to adapt to weather changes like dress appropriately for each season.

However according to residents and experts this is not the situation in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito.

The weather is so unpredictable that all four seasons in this city can be experienced in 24 hours.

 “In the morning you can wake up and it is very chilly. Then as the day progresses the weather shows spring characteristics, then summer is experienced in the afternoon where the sun is very hot. Then it rains afterwards. After the rain comes the fall,” Silvia Benitez, the Freshwater Manager from The Nature Conservancy told Baraka FM.

Ms. Benitez reiterated that due to climate change the four seasons experienced in a day could be too much to handle as you would need to carry a jacket and an umbrella even if it is sunny just in case it pours.

“Over time the weather has been dramatic. More intense rains occur within shorter times and droughts last longer. This is as a result of climate change,” Ms. Benitez said, at the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, where Habitat III was taking place.

She said that high rainfall would be dangerous as it would resonate to flooding in Quito.

“That is why we are looking on how the city can adapt to this situation,” she said.

Becoming resilient to handle climate change in Quito

The city has a natural ecosystem called paramo found in the Ecuadorian mountains, which captures the rain when it pours heavily and help in releasing the water when it does not rain.

“This is a really great feature in Ecuador in the high mountain grasslands as it act as a sponge. It captures water which is released when need arises,” Ms. Benitez remarked.

“We are protecting our paramos and natural ecosystem which is our natural reservoir, and a source of water, from destruction by human activities. We ensure planting of trees along rivers which cleans water as it flows. Within the city we are using green solutions like planting trees that regulate temperatures, capture water and prevent floods,” she remarked.

This makes Quito to have a better adaptation towards climate change with the ecosystem based strategy.

Sustainable Development Goal SDG goal 13 advocates for urgent actions to be taken to combat climate change and its impact.

“In the past few years we have realized that as the climate is changing and the global population continues to grow, we are looking at 3 out of every 4 people living in a city by 2050. We need to work in cities if we need to protect our resources. There needs to be more nature and biodiversity protection in cities to provide for needs of people living here,” Misty Edgecomb, Communications Manager, Nature Conservancy, told Baraka FM during Habitat III. 

100 Resilient Cities

According to Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 resilient cities Quito’s resilience has been tested many times. 

The metropolitan district faces risk on a daily basis due to massive seismic movements, floods, and forest fires and in 2012 alone 2,600 forest fires were reported. 

In 2011, nearly 144 landslides during the rainy season resulted in many deaths and damage to housing in the most vulnerable sectors of the city. 

The poor are also most at risk in the event of a high-magnitude earthquake, which would devastate the city’s irregular, unplanned settlements in steep-slope areas.

“A resilient city is one which can manage its challenges efficiently and effectively,” Maxwell Young, the Global Vice President Marketing and Communication, 100 Resilient Cities Initiative, told Baraka FM.

SDG 11 calls for cities and human settlements be made inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.