Saint-Benoît (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ bənwa] ⓘ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Réunion, about 40 kilometres southeast of Saint-Denis, the capital.
Saint-Benoît | |
|---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
 The Church of Sainte-Anne in the commune of Saint-Benoît | |
 | |
Location of Saint-Benoît  | |
| Coordinates: 21°02′02″S 55°42′46″E / 21.0339°S 55.7128°E | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | Réunion |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Benoît |
| Canton | Saint-Benoît-1 and 2 |
| Intercommunality | Réunion Est |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Patrice Selly[1] |
| Area 1 | 229.61 km2 (88.65 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 37,023 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+04:00 |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97410 /97470 |
| Elevation | 0–2,520 m (0–8,268 ft) (avg. 7 m or 23 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
It is the second largest city of the island by its surface area.In the west of the commune lies Grand Étang, the largest lake of La Réunion. Close to the lake flows the Bras d'Annette waterfall.
Climate
Saint-Benoît has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The climate is tropical, influenced by the wind called "alizés" or trade wind. The average annual temperature in Saint-Benoît is 23.8 °C (74.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 3,455.9 mm (136.06 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 26.5 °C (79.7 °F), and lowest in July, at around 21.0 °C (69.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Benoît was 34.1 °C (93.4 °F) on 6 February 2004; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) on 15 July 1991.
| Climate data for Saint-Benoît (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1987−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33.7 (92.7) | 34.1 (93.4) | 33.9 (93.0) | 33.4 (92.1) | 32.0 (89.6) | 31.8 (89.2) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.7 (85.5) | 30.1 (86.2) | 33.8 (92.8) | 33.6 (92.5) | 34.1 (93.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.1 (86.2) | 29.3 (84.7) | 27.7 (81.9) | 26.0 (78.8) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.6 (79.9) | 27.8 (82.0) | 29.3 (84.7) | 27.8 (82.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.3 (79.3) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.1 (79.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 23.6 (74.5) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 22.7 (72.9) | 23.8 (74.8) | 25.3 (77.5) | 23.8 (74.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.1 (70.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.1 (62.8) | 17.7 (63.9) | 18.7 (65.7) | 19.9 (67.8) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.7 (67.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 17.4 (63.3) | 17.2 (63.0) | 17.6 (63.7) | 15.8 (60.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 12.1 (53.8) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.4 (52.5) | 12.0 (53.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.9 (62.4) | 10.5 (50.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 469.1 (18.47) | 541.0 (21.30) | 535.2 (21.07) | 349.4 (13.76) | 260.1 (10.24) | 179.2 (7.06) | 178.6 (7.03) | 154.6 (6.09) | 144.8 (5.70) | 132.6 (5.22) | 181.3 (7.14) | 330.0 (12.99) | 3,455.9 (136.06) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 19.9 | 18.3 | 19.2 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 14.7 | 17.0 | 16.6 | 14.5 | 13.4 | 12.8 | 16.8 | 197.7 |
| Source: Météo France[3] | |||||||||||||
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 16,783 | — |
| 1967 | 19,492 | +2.53% |
| 1974 | 21,658 | +1.52% |
| 1982 | 23,541 | +1.05% |
| 1990 | 26,187 | +1.34% |
| 1999 | 31,560 | +2.10% |
| 2007 | 33,485 | +0.74% |
| 2012 | 36,025 | +1.47% |
| 2017 | 37,759 | +0.94% |
| Source: SPLAF[4] and INSEE (1967-2017)[5] | ||
See also
References
