Petite-Île (French pronunciation: [pətit il], literally Little Isle) is a commune on the French island and department of Réunion. The commune is bordered by the communes of Saint-Joseph to the east and Saint-Pierre to the west. The commune gets its name from the uninhabited islet off of its coast, the only such islet near Réunion that has vegetation. The commune was established in 1935.

Petite-Île
The coastline of Petite-Île
The coastline of Petite-Île
Coat of arms of Petite-Île
Location of Petite-Île
Map
Coordinates: 21°21′21″S 55°33′57″E / 21.3558°S 55.5658°E / -21.3558; 55.5658
CountryFrance
Overseas region and departmentRéunion
ArrondissementSaint-Pierre
CantonSaint-Pierre-3
IntercommunalityVilles solidaires
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Serge Hoareau[1]
Area
1
33.93 km2 (13.10 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
12,617
 • Density370/km2 (960/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+04:00
INSEE/Postal code
97405 /97429
Elevation0–1,581 m (0–5,187 ft)
(avg. 307 m or 1,007 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

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Climate

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Petite-Île has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). The average annual temperature in Petite-Île is 24.3 °C (75.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,458.6 mm (57.43 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 27.4 °C (81.3 °F), and lowest in July, at around 21.0 °C (69.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Petite-Île was 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) on 21 January 2009; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −5.9 °C (21.4 °F) on 2 August 2001.

Climate data for Petite-Île (1991–2020 averages, extremes 2000−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 36.6
(97.9)
36.0
(96.8)
35.4
(95.7)
34.5
(94.1)
33.1
(91.6)
30.7
(87.3)
31.7
(89.1)
29.5
(85.1)
30.7
(87.3)
31.8
(89.2)
33.4
(92.1)
35.6
(96.1)
36.6
(97.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 31.5
(88.7)
31.3
(88.3)
30.7
(87.3)
29.3
(84.7)
27.4
(81.3)
25.3
(77.5)
24.4
(75.9)
24.7
(76.5)
25.7
(78.3)
27.4
(81.3)
29.2
(84.6)
30.9
(87.6)
28.1
(82.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.4
(81.3)
27.3
(81.1)
26.9
(80.4)
25.6
(78.1)
23.9
(75.0)
22.0
(71.6)
21.0
(69.8)
21.1
(70.0)
21.9
(71.4)
23.3
(73.9)
24.9
(76.8)
26.6
(79.9)
24.3
(75.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9)
23.4
(74.1)
23.0
(73.4)
21.9
(71.4)
20.3
(68.5)
18.6
(65.5)
17.7
(63.9)
17.6
(63.7)
18.0
(64.4)
19.2
(66.6)
20.6
(69.1)
22.4
(72.3)
20.5
(68.9)
Record low °C (°F) 19.7
(67.5)
19.9
(67.8)
19.7
(67.5)
18.6
(65.5)
16.0
(60.8)
14.6
(58.3)
15.1
(59.2)
13.6
(56.5)
14.7
(58.5)
14.9
(58.8)
16.5
(61.7)
19.0
(66.2)
13.6
(56.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 163.7
(6.44)
187.2
(7.37)
197.4
(7.77)
182.0
(7.17)
138.2
(5.44)
118.3
(4.66)
135.3
(5.33)
72.3
(2.85)
64.7
(2.55)
51.0
(2.01)
57.8
(2.28)
90.7
(3.57)
1,458.6
(57.43)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.5 11.6 12.2 10.9 11.2 12.7 13.3 9.3 6.5 5.6 4.5 6.2 113.4
Source: Météo France[3]

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1967 7,951—    
1974 7,961+0.02%
1982 7,834−0.20%
1990 8,852+1.54%
1999 10,151+1.53%
2007 11,672+1.76%
2012 11,564−0.19%
2017 12,162+1.01%
Source: INSEE[4]

Economy

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The main economy in the commune is agriculture-based, with cane sugar plantations, along with fruit and vegetable farming.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Climate of Petite-Île 1991-2020" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  4. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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