The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has forecasted that some parts of Nsanje District will likely be hit by either floods or dry spells in the 2018/19 rainy season due to impending El Nino.
Chief meteorologist responsible for weather forecasting in the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Charles Vanya, gave the forecast to Nanje Civil Protection Committee members on Monday during a Participatory Scenario Planning (PSP) meeting.
He said the southern part of the district will receive normal rains while in the northern part it will be low.
“The forecasted El Nino which will affect southern parts of Africa will also affect Malawi as a whole, more especially parts of Nsanje. To be specific, the southern part will receive [normal] rain below 60 mm while the northern part which include traditional authorities Mbenje, Mlolo and parts of Tengani will receive below normal rainfall,” said Vanya.
He warned Nsanje communities that during the month of March, there will be a possibility of a two-week drought.
Vanya, therefore, asked farmers to seek interventions which could withstand the erratic weather pattern such as planting early-maturing crop varieties.
In an interview, disaster risk management officer Humphrey Magalasi said they have already started disseminating messages to communities in readiness for any situation.
The Nsanje Participatory Scenario Planning was organised with support from Ubale project, implemented by Care Malawi International.
El Nino is a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean which impacts on global weather patterns, according to www.livescience.com.
