President William Ruto has revealed that the country will not experience El Nino rains following an expert assessment from the Kenya Meteorological Department.
Addressing a congregation at a church service in Riruta on Sunday, the Head of State stated that meteorologists had rescinded their earlier prediction of El Nino rains.
“We heard reports that the country will experience El Nino rains, which have the potential to destroy property. But God has been faithful. We have now heard the meteorologists saying that will no longer be the case. We will just have heavy rains. We thank God,” the President explained.
The Kenya Meteorological Department had issued a warning about the expected El Niño rains during the months of October, November and December.
“This will be driven by warmer than average Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) over the Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean, indicating the presence of El Niño conditions. According to most of the global climate models, El Niño conditions are likely to persist throughout the OND season,” explained Kenya Meteorological Service Director General Dr. David Gikungu.
And now, with just a month to go, the department has backtracked on its earlier warning, saying the rains will be normal while allaying fears of a phenomenon with the potential to wreak havoc in the country.
The national government had projected that it would spend more than 10 billion shillings to mitigate the effects of the El Niño rains, and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua convened several stakeholder meetings to review Kenya’s preparedness and come up with effective mitigation plans.
In addition to the weather forecast, President Ruto announced that the country has achieved its highest maize harvest in four years, marking a significant 45 percent increase in production. This bountiful harvest is expected to stabilize maize flour prices, and the President encouraged farmers to prepare their farms for the upcoming farming season.
“We want to thank God that we have a bumper harvest this season. Our projection is that we will add our produce by an extra 45 percent. We have enough food to feed our country,” President Ruto affirmed.
