La Plaine-des-Palmistes
Commune in Réunion, France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Plaine-des-Palmistes (French pronunciation: [la plɛn də palmist] ⓘ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It lies in the eastern part of the island, on the RN3 road, south west of Saint-Benoît and northeast of the Col de Bellevue. It is known for its nearby forest and for the Biberon Falls. It lies close to the slopes of the Piton des Songes.
La Plaine-des-Palmistes | |
|---|---|
The town hall in Plaine-des-Palmistes | |
 | |
 Location of La Plaine-des-Palmistes | |
| Coordinates: 21°08′06″S 55°37′32″E | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | Réunion |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Benoît |
| Canton | Saint-Benoît-1 |
| Intercommunality | Réunion Est |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Johnny Payet[1] |
Area 1 | 83.19 km2 (32.12 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 6,936 |
| • Density | 83.38/km2 (215.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+04:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97406 /97431 |
| Elevation | 720–2,402 m (2,362–7,881 ft) (avg. 1,008 m or 3,307 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
The communal territory is entirely located at the top of the island. It borders Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Rose and Le Tampon.
Climate
La Plaine-des-Palmistes has an oceanic climate (Cfb) while under the Trewartha system, it is labeled an humid subtropical climate (Dobk).
The average annual temperature in La Plaine-des-Palmistes is 16.9 °C (62.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 4,302.4 mm (169.39 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 20.2 °C (68.4 °F), and lowest in August, at around 13.8 °C (56.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in La Plaine-des-Palmistes was 30.5 °C (86.9 °F) on 11 March 2015; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 2.8 °C (37.0 °F) on 25 August 1963.
| Climate data for La Plaine-des-Palmistes (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1961–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.0 (84.2) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.5 (86.9) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.1 (79.0) |
25.3 (77.5) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
26.8 (80.2) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.1 (82.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
22.7 (72.9) |
21.0 (69.8) |
19.3 (66.7) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.5 (65.3) |
19.6 (67.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.8 (73.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.9 (67.8) |
20.2 (68.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.9 (58.8) |
14.0 (57.2) |
13.8 (56.8) |
14.2 (57.6) |
15.4 (59.7) |
16.8 (62.2) |
18.6 (65.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
16.4 (61.5) |
15.8 (60.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
9.7 (49.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.2 (52.2) |
12.4 (54.3) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.8 (55.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 10.0 (50.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
3.8 (38.8) |
3.4 (38.1) |
2.8 (37.0) |
4.5 (40.1) |
4.9 (40.8) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
2.8 (37.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 763.7 (30.07) |
780.8 (30.74) |
733.5 (28.88) |
344.0 (13.54) |
262.7 (10.34) |
189.1 (7.44) |
162.2 (6.39) |
188.5 (7.42) |
166.1 (6.54) |
158.1 (6.22) |
179.0 (7.05) |
374.7 (14.75) |
4,302.4 (169.39) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 20.9 | 19.7 | 19.3 | 17.1 | 15.2 | 13.4 | 15.3 | 16.1 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 13.8 | 17.8 | 196.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 125.3 | 111.6 | 131.3 | 128.1 | 133.6 | 136.6 | 136.6 | 130.1 | 137.8 | 126.9 | 137.0 | 119.1 | 1,553.9 |
| Source 1: Meteo France[3] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Meteociel.fr (sunshine 1981-2010)[4] | |||||||||||||
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 2,304 | — |
| 1974 | 2,062 | −1.57% |
| 1982 | 2,020 | −0.26% |
| 1990 | 2,676 | +3.58% |
| 1999 | 3,434 | +2.81% |
| 2007 | 4,713 | +4.04% |
| 2012 | 5,574 | +3.41% |
| 2017 | 6,565 | +3.33% |
| 2023 | 6,936 | +0.92% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
