La Plaine-des-Palmistes

Commune in Réunion, France

Location of La Plaine-des-Palmistes

Coordinates: (2020–2026) Johnny Payet^[1]Area

83.19 km² (32.12 sq mi)Population

(2021)^[2]

6,821 • Density82/km² (210/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+04:00INSEE/Postal code

97406 /97431

Elevation720–2,402 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.

La Plaine-des-Palmistes (French pronunciation: [la plɛn de palmist]) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion.

Geography

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.

The communal territory is entirely located in the tops of the island. It borders Saint-Benoît, Sainte-Rose and Le Tampon.

Climate

La Plaine-des-Palmistes has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). 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

Historical 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%
Source: INSEE^[5]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ "Plaine-des-Palmistes (974)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ "Normales / Moyennes 1981-2010 / Plaine des Palmistes (974)" (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE