Morning lows across Trinidad are already dipping below 20°C, with a few areas nearing 19°C on Saturday morning as of 1:00 AM.
Parts of interior Trinidad, such as Penal and Caroni may see morning low temperatures near 18.0°C.
Temperatures across Tobago, albeit still cool, have remained near 23°C
Low temperatures during this time of year are normal, as the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter.
Cool temperatures across Trinidad result of several factors occurring:

• Calm/near calm winds
• Almost no cloud coverage
• Winds originating from the Northeast to the north at some of the lower levels of the atmosphere (over Trinidad)
• Low amounts of low-level moisture (water vapor)

The dew point, which is the atmospheric temperature below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form, meteorologists can determine both the moisture content of the atmosphere near the surface, as well as an estimate for the minimum temperature.
A lower dew point means that there is less water vapor in the air. Water vapor can absorb and radiate heat back to the surface. Hence, the lower the water vapor content, the more infrared radiation (i.e. long-wave radiation) can escape from the surface of the earth and cause rapid cooling.
Calm winds and no cloud coverage are due to a persistent sub-tropical high-pressure system that will begin to dominate the weather for much of January, causing dry air at mid and upper levels of the atmosphere, inhibiting cloud formation.
Lack of cloud coverage also leads to fairly warm days, where temperatures can reach 30-32°C.
Particularly during El Niño years, winter storms move further southward across the United States, increasing the likelihood of cold frontal systems moving across the Caribbean and further dipping temperatures. On the rare occasion, a cold front does manage to make it as far south as Trinidad and Tobago, cold conditions would be due to a process called advection, where there is a horizontal mass movement of air.
For vulnerable persons, who might be especially susceptible to cooler temperatures, such as babies or people suffering from arthritis, it may be best to layer up as a way to keep warm at night.

Shared by Anand Mathura on his Facebook Page.  

​Her cells are responsible for the polio vaccine, gene mapping and in vitro fertilization to name a few. But for a long time most of the public didn't know her contribution to modern medicine. Neither did she because her cells were harvested without her consent.
This year, the Smithsonian unveiled a portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the black tobacco farmer who ended up changing the world. Her cells have allowed for advances in cancer treatment, AIDS research, cloning, stem-cell studies and so much more. They traveled to the moon to test the effects of zero gravity, and scientists have sold and purchased them by the billions.
The oil-on-linen work, "Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine" will hang inside one of the main entrances of the National Portrait Gallery through November.
No other painted portrait of Lacks existed before this, said Dorothy Moss, the curator of painting and sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery. Lacks died in 1951 at the age of 31 from an aggressive form of cervical cancer. During her treatment, a surgeon cut cells from her cervix. Those cells became the first human cell line to reproduce outside the body. They came to be known as HeLa cells and became invaluable to medical researchers.
Little was known about Lacks' impact on modern medicine outside the medical community until author Rebecca Skloot wrote a book about it in 2010.The New York Times best-selling book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," introduced Lacks -- and what she did for medicine -- to the world. An HBO film by the same name, starring Oprah Winfrey, helped disseminate her story further. 
For more information about Henrietta Lacks, click here or copy this URL into your browser ​https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/21/health/henrietta-lacks-legacy/index.html

The THA Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation collaborated with the Buccoo village council for the launch of the Buccoo passport initiative on Thursday at the tower of the Buccoo Integrated Facility.
The initiative, which includes seven unique elements, is the latest private sector tourism undertaking on the island and offers a packaged Buccoo experience that includes Buccoo Reef tours, entertainment by the Buccooneers Steel Orchestra, goat and crab racing, horseback riding, museum tours, Buccoo "Sunday School" and dining at participating restaurants.
Speaking at the launch, president of the village council Natasha Roachford-Chance said the first step in the initiative was to formulate the pillars of the Buccoo passport, which was initially supposed to be called The Buccoo Experience or The BU Experience.
After several conversations, she said they went in another direction towards the passport booklets. The passports feature active barcodes and will be sold to visitors to enable them to access the package offerings.
“We have developed three packages; fun day pass (FDP), mix and match (M&M) and make your pick (MYP).
“The long-term plan is that we have an outlet where we include other souvenir items of Buccoo passport and surrounding areas and, of course, extend it to our fellow Tobagonians. This will allow the Buccoo Village Council to employ two members of the Buccoo community that would serve as the staff members; of course we have to develop the company to do such and we would be able to benefit more in the community,” she said as she thanked the village council for buying into the initiative.
Public Relations officer (PRO) of the village council, Winston Pereira said the intended target market is the cruise ship arrivals.
“We intend to provide a fully interactive cultural experience that will improve the memorable nature of the product, thereby making it a much safer space for all arriving cruise ship itinerary.
“This initiative forms part of a larger plan by the Buccoo village council to highlight and harness the immense heritage potential of our village using the binary approach of technical and cultural,” he said.
Administrator of the Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation, Selma Graham applauded the village council for understanding the importance of preserving and showcasing aspects of the island’s rich culture and history.
“Today signifies another noteworthy milestone for our island – one which should be lauded by all…Tobago has numerous natural and historical offerings. I must commend the Buccoo village council for having the foresight and successfully birthing this project even as the Tobago House of Assembly, through the Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation, continues to encourage the establishment of private initiatives such as these. I look forward to experiencing the offerings of this initiative,” she said.
Following the launch, attendees were escorted on a guided tour of some of the package attractions including the goat racing track, Healing with Horses Park and the La Tartaruga restaurant. Source: Newsday, Dec 2019.

The work of Trinidadian artist Andrea McKenzie has been recognised with an award in Atlanta, Georgia, US, and will also be displayed this month in the Atlanta Mayor's Gallery.
McKenzie, who is based in Atlanta, recently won the 2019 I am Black, I am Power, Art and Creativity award from the Black People United Global Network with "Black" being an acronym for Beautiful Living Ancestors Controlling Kingdoms Irreplaceable Amazing Melanin.
The founder and CEO of Black People United Global Network, Dr Angela Harris, said the body, which was founded in December 2015, seeks to "strategically honour people of all nationalities and religions in the black race from all around the world.
"Our mission is to collectively come together under one roof to give recognition to well-deserving individuals who have gone above and beyond to help the relevancy of our image as a race to have a positive influence on our families, communities and business through their God-given gifts and talents."
McKenzie told Newsday via e-mail that she was nominated anonymously for the award.
"I felt honoured to be recognised amongst thousands of artists in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. I always work hard towards perfecting my craft and achieving my goals. Receiving this award brought great fulfilment and pride to be able to represent my country internationally in the arts."
McKenzie's work was also selected by the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, to be exhibited at the Mayor's Gallery, City Hall, Atlanta, from November 14- January 4 in a dual exhibition called SANKOFA (go back and get it).
"I'm very excited to be given this amazing opportunity."
The exhibit will feature ten pieces from McKenzie of mixed media including glass, acrylic, resin, glitter and cowrie shells. She said her new, unique style is giving her the breakthrough, "as no one is doing it in Georgia."
Atlanta's Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), in an online post, announced the exhibition by McKenzie and Ghana-born artist Alfred Addo. The joint exhibition commemorates the ideas embodied in Ghana’s Year of Return, a reflection on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans' arrival in Jamestown, Virginia.
Addo was born to a family of artists and has been exposed to art since infancy. OCA noted his primary inspiration came from his father, who exhibited his work regularly and challenged Addo to produce unique artwork.
"Although Addo was passionate about art, he also possessed a keen interest in the physical sciences, a field he found satisfyingly challenging. He was torn between going to college to study medicine and pursuing his passion to be a professional artist. In the end, he chose to follow his passion and pursue art full-time.
"Since then, Addo has specialised in sculpture as his core medium. Interestingly, his physical science background led him to experiment with different materials, including sawdust, which he played with as a child in the sawmill where his father bought and cut wood for his sculptures. Naturally, Addo grew up loving this medium and decided to make it the main material he uses in all his artwork. Passionate about the sustainability of the earth, Addo perfected the method of recycling sawdust and waste materials to create various types of sculptures and relief works."
Addo has successfully participated in many international art exhibitions in places including Johannesburg, Cape Town, New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Atlanta, San Diego, California, Martha’s Vineyard and in his home city Accra, Ghana.
OCA described McKenzie as "a true island girl" who comes from one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world, TT, and her natural aptitude for creativity was nurtured at an early age because of her family’s involvement in the nation’s world-famous Carnival.
"McKenzie’s fascination with contrast, textures, and fabrics was the fuel behind her kaleidoscope-like pieces. She uniquely infused glass, acrylic, and other materials on varying canvas, which propelled her into achieving a viable international clientèle."
OCA noted throughout her young career, she has exhibited works in multiple nations including TT and neighbouring Caribbean islands. Her art has also been exhibited in New York, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, London and Australia.
In 2013, after losing her job in event marketing, McKenzie pursued her passion for art and became a full-time artist, with clients in the US and Europe. As a full-time artist, she does commissioned pieces where people contact her via e-mail or on her website and let her know what they want, whether it is for their homes or businesses.
Her first exhibition, Pieces of Me, was held in Trinidad in 2013 and featured 25 pieces about her and life experiences, including first love and first disappointment.
McKenzie has clients from countries such as the US, Sweden, England, Scotland and TT. She works primarily with acrylic on canvas or wood board. Her dream is to have her pieces featured in the set decoration of successful television shows and box office movies and showcased all over the world.
To see more of McKenzie’s work visit her Instagram @andreas.heart and her art page on Facebook at Andrea’s Unique Art. Source: Newsday, Nov. 2019.

​A new re­port from the In­ter-Amer­i­can De­vel­op­ment Bank (IDB) de­scribes gov­ern­ment trans­ac­tions in T&T and across the Caribbean as a “hotbed of cor­rup­tion” where cit­i­zens are com­pelled to pay bribes to ac­cess cer­tain ser­vices.
In the re­port, Wait no More: Cit­i­zens, Red Tape and Dig­i­tal Gov­ern­ment, au­thors Ben­jamin Roseth and An­gela Reyes state that “man­u­al gov­ern­ment trans­ac­tions, face-to-face in­ter­ac­tions, and the lack of stan­dard­ized process­es mean that trans­ac­tions are vul­ner­a­ble to dis­hon­est be­hav­iour.”
Ref­er­enc­ing da­ta from a 2019 Trans­paren­cy In­ter­na­tion­al sur­vey, they said in five Caribbean coun­tries 19 per cent of re­spon­dents said that had paid a bribe to ac­cess a pub­lic ser­vice.
“Da­ta from this same sur­vey show that the per­cent­age of peo­ple who pay bribes in ex­change for ser­vices varies through­out the re­gion: in Guyana 27 per cent of those sur­veyed said they had to pay a bribe to ac­cess a pub­lic ser­vice, the high­est pro­por­tion in the re­gion, fol­lowed by 20 per cent in The Ba­hamas and 17 per cent in both Ja­maica and Trinidad and To­ba­go.”
Bar­ba­dos reg­is­tered the low­est rate, with on­ly 9 per cent of those sur­veyed re­port­ing hav­ing paid a bribe to re­ceive a pub­lic ser­vice.
The au­thors claim that these rates var­ied ac­cord­ing to the ser­vice be­ing re­quest­ed. The re­search by Trans­paren­cy In­ter­na­tion­al found that in the Caribbean, pub­lic util­i­ties record­ed the high­est rate of bribes where 19 per cent of cit­i­zens said they paid a bribe to ac­cess a ser­vice. Al­so, 15 per cent of re­spon­dents paid a bribe to ob­tain an iden­ti­ty doc­u­ment. For po­lice ser­vices, this fig­ure reached 18 per cent.
The ref­er­ence pop­u­la­tion for these sta­tis­tics, ac­cord­ing to the re­port, in­clud­ed peo­ple who at­tempt­ed to ac­cess a pub­lic ser­vice in the past year. The sur­vey asked re­spon­dents for each type of ser­vice: “How of­ten, if ever, did you have to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favour to (pub­lic of­fi­cial in X in­sti­tu­tion) to get the (ser­vice X) you need­ed?”
The re­spon­dents in­clud­ed in the over­all bribery per­cent­age are those who re­spond­ed “once,” “twice,” “a few times” or “of­ten.”
When Guardian Me­dia reached out to var­i­ous of­fi­cials about their knowl­edge of peo­ple ac­cept­ing bribes, they said that they were not aware.
Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty Min­is­ter Stu­art Young said: “No I am not. If you have any cred­i­ble in­for­ma­tion on these very se­ri­ous al­le­ga­tions I would like you to pro­vide to me please.”
There was a sim­i­lar re­sponse from Pub­lic Util­i­ties Min­is­ter Robert Le Hunte.
“No I am not and if you have in­for­ma­tion on that please send it to me,” he told Guardian Me­dia
Ap­proached for com­ment, Po­lice Com­mis­sion­er Gary Grif­fith point­ed out that the T&T Po­lice Ser­vice (TTPS) does not in­ves­ti­gate based on “a Caribbean poll or al­le­ga­tions by anony­mous per­sons from around the Caribbean.”
“There have been dozens of re­ports made on TTPS po­lice of­fi­cers per­tain­ing to such in­ci­dents and with every re­port, it is thor­ough­ly in­ves­ti­gat­ed,” he said.
Grif­fith said at times the in­ves­ti­ga­tions proved the al­le­ga­tions to have no mer­it and there had been “sev­er­al in­ves­ti­ga­tions where­by po­lice of­fi­cers have in­deed been charged.”
The Com­mis­sion­er said this ev­i­dence shows that the TTPS “acts on such mat­ters if and when called up­on to do so.” He ex­plained, how­ev­er, “that the num­ber of such cas­es is very low in com­par­i­son to the num­ber of TTPS of­fi­cers on du­ty.”
Ac­cord­ing to the IDB re­port, one of the rea­sons cit­i­zens re­sort to pay­ing bribes is be­cause of the length of the trans­ac­tion times for gov­ern­ment ser­vices which Roseth and Reyes de­scribed as “slow and (they) gen­er­ate trans­ac­tion costs for both cit­i­zens and firms.”
“Com­plet­ing gov­ern­ment trans­ac­tions re­quires a lot of ef­fort. Jour­neys, queues, wait­ing at the counter, fill­ing out forms, read­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions, seek­ing in­for­ma­tion, send­ing let­ters, or even learn­ing to use a new sys­tem or web­site: in short, a gov­ern­ment trans­ac­tion can be all-con­sum­ing,” they wrote.
The av­er­age amount of hours spent to get a trans­ac­tion com­plet­ed in T&T is 3.9 hours. Guyana had the slow­est times, where it takes a cit­i­zen on av­er­age 5.9 hours to com­plete one trans­ac­tion. Bar­ba­dos was al­so above the Caribbean av­er­age, at 4.8 hours on av­er­age, while in Ja­maica it took on av­er­age 4.1 hours. The Ba­hamas had the low­est av­er­age times of the Caribbean at 2.8 hours.
Da­ta from Trans­paren­cy In­ter­na­tion­al al­so showed that Caribbean cit­i­zens spent an av­er­age of 4.3 hours to com­plete their last gov­ern­ment trans­ac­tion and “this refers to ac­tive time, such as trans­porta­tion, wait­ing in line and at the counter, and ex­cludes time spent wait­ing for a res­o­lu­tion out­side of the pub­lic of­fice.”
Roseth and Reyes re­port­ed that mul­ti­ple in­ter­ac­tions gen­er­at­ed trans­ac­tion costs for cit­i­zens even if every in­di­vid­ual vis­it is short, “as cit­i­zens must spend time and re­sources com­mut­ing to pub­lic of­fices and ask mul­ti­ple times for leave at work, among oth­er costs.”
These mul­ti­ple in­ter­ac­tions al­so im­ply ef­fi­cien­cy loss­es for the gov­ern­ment which is forced to ear­mark more re­sources for pro­vid­ing cit­i­zen ser­vices due to in­ef­fi­cien­cy.

Three Trini showbusiness figures and a film director with Trini roots have been recognised by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in her 2020 New Year's Honours List.
They are singer Billy Ocean, actor Rudolph Walker, actress and television presenter turned Lib Dem peer Floella Benjamin, and film director Sam Mendes.
Ocean, born Leslie Sebastian Charles, has been appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music.
MBE is the third highest-ranking Order of the British Empire award, behind Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) which is first and then Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Walker has been upgraded to CBE, the highest-ranking Order of the British Empire award, 13 years after receiving an OBE for his services to drama. This latest award is in recognition of his foundation helping disadvantaged children become actors.
Benjamin, already a baroness, has also been upgraded from OBE to Damehood for services to charity. She gets Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE). The two senior ranks of the Order of the British Empire are Knight or Dame Grand Cross, and Knight or Dame Commander.
Mendes, byname of Samuel Alexander Mendes, can soon be called Sir Sam, as he is to be Knighted for his contribution to drama. This senior honour is awarded to members who have made major contributions to any activity, usually at national level. Per tradition, knighthoods and damehoods are presented with a touch of a sword by the Queen (or King).
Ocean, who was born in Fyzabad in 1950, is best known for his 1980s hits such as Caribbean Queen (1985) for which he won a Grammy Award, When the Going Gets Tough (1986), and Get Outta My Dreams (1988).
In 2010, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards in London, and in 2011 he became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts.
Walker, who was born in San Juan in 1939 and was a founder member of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, was one of the first regular Black actors on British television in the ‘60s. He played Patrick Trueman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders which he joined in 2001, and Bill Reynolds in 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, and acted in several plays and films.
Benjamin, who was born in Pointe-a-Pierre in 1949, was previously honoured with an OBE in 2001 for her contribution to television. A politician and activist, she has dedicated much of her career to campaigning for young people and her various charitable interests. In 2010, she was introduced to the House of Lords as a Life Peer nominated by the Liberal Democrats with the title of Baroness Benjamin, of Beckenham in the County of Kent.
England-born Mendes, 54, grandson of acclaimed Trinidadian writer Alfred Hubert Mendes, directed two Bond films as well as multiple international theatre productions, and won an Oscar for American Beauty. In 2002, he got a CBE.
Following the announcement of the Honour’s List in London on Saturday, Dame Benjamin, 70, said: “For the last 40 years, I believed that you have to give back and you have to try and think about other people as much as you can because when I came to Britain (from Trinidad), aged 10, I had a pretty tough time, people told me to go back, they didn't want me here.
"And I realised that I was worthy because my parents kept telling me that."
She also said, “I was thrilled to receive my OBE (two decades ago), but to get my Damehood for charity means even more to me because I have truly dedicated my life to giving to charity, charitable causes, and charitable experiences.”
Mendes said: “I'm amazed, delighted and extremely proud. I have stood on the shoulders of so many collaborators and colleagues over the last 30 years – actors, writers, designers, producers, technicians – to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude. I would not be receiving this honour without them."
The distinguished awards are handed out once a year and recognise the outstanding achievements of people across the UK.
The decision about who gets an honour – and the type of honour they get – is made by special committees. The process begins with nominations from the public, which are siphoned down by the committees and reviewed by the prime minister before the various honours are bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II or senior royals next year.
The list, which was drawn up and approved during Theresa May’s premiership, rewards a lineup of well-known figures from arts and sport. But the vast majority (72 per cent) of the 1,097 recognised are people who work in their communities.
Source: Newsday, December 27, 2019.