The Kenya Meteorological Department has forecast a continued dry season for the rest of the year, despite the fact that the country will experience brief rains in the coming months.
In a forecast released on Wednesday, the weatherman predicted that most parts of the country will continue to receive below-average to no rainfall in the following months of October, November, and December, which have historically been wet seasons.
“The Climate Outlook for the October-November-December (OND) 2022 ‘Short Rains’ season indicates that most parts of the country are likely to experience depressed rainfall with higher probabilities over the eastern sector. There is a good chance that most of the country will experience drier-than-average conditions,” noted the Met. Department.
Similarly, the drier conditions will be accompanied by higher-than-average temperatures, which the weatherman predicts will last throughout the review period.
“La Niña conditions are likely to persist throughout the OND season, according to most of the global climate models. The season is likely to be warmer than average for the majority of the country,” MET noted.
According to the Met Department, the aforementioned conditions will be adverse in the Eastern, Coastal, and North Eastern parts of the country.
“The areas likely to receive below-average (depressed) rainfall are: The Lake Victoria Basin, Highlands West of the Rift Valley and Central and South Rift Valley, Counties in North Western Kenya; parts of the Highlands East of the Rift Valley, parts of southeastern Kenya,” stated MET.
“The areas with increased probabilities for below-average (highly depressed) rainfall are indicated over North Eastern Counties, Coastal region, much of southeastern Kenya, and parts of the Highlands East of the Rift Valley.”
Meanwhile, some areas in the western part of the country, including Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia, Trans Nzoia, and parts of West Pokot, Central Highlands, and Nairobi, have been receiving near-average rains.
The department also stated that the cold weather will continue in these areas, noting that it is also experienced in most parts of eastern Africa.
“The cold weather is due to a coupling of the wet conditions with an influx of cold air from Southern Africa. Warmer conditions are expected into the weekend, however, rains will continue mainly over the western parts of the country and over a few places in the central highlands,” Met wrote.
“The rains currently being experienced in the Western and Central highlands including Nairobi are due to the shifting of the humid Congo airmass (meridional arm of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, ITCZ) towards Eastern Africa due to weaker pressures over the Mozambique channel.”
