Most parts of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall during the forthcoming 2021/22 farming season that kicks off in October, weather experts announced on Wednesday.
A forecast by the Southern African Regional Climate Outlook Forum showed that the bulk of the SADC region is likely to receive normal to above-normal rainfall for most of the period October to December 2021, except for south-western Angola, western Madagascar, coastal areas of Namibia and western fringes of South Africa which have increased chances of normal to below-normal rainfall during the same period.
In the second half of the rainfall season, covering the period January-March 2022, above-normal rainfall is expected in Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as the bulk of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.
The positive climate outlook is attributed to an expected La Nina episode during the coming season. La Nina conditions are triggered by the cooling of temperature in the Pacific Ocean and are usually associated with heavy rains and flooding in southern Africa.
The forecast is good news for a region that has endured a number of dry seasons over the past decade, including the worst-ever drought in living memory that was recorded during the 2015/16 farming season.
JN/APA