Maputo, 13 Jan (AIM) – Southern and central Mozambique could face drought due to the “El Nino” weather phenomenon, warns Bernadino Nhantumbo, a researcher in the National Meteorological Institute (INAM), cited by Radio Mozambique.
“El Nino” is associated with warming of the surface waters in the central and equatorial Pacific, which disrupts world weather patterns, and is a key factor in causing low rainfall in southern Africa.
Nhantumbo said that, if these fears are borne out, then agriculture could be seriously affected.
He said that, in general, “El Nino” causes lower than normal rains in southern Mozambique, and higher than normal rains in the north. “Our major concern is with situations of lower than normal rainfall, which can result in drought in the south and centre of the country, where we already have arid and semi-arid areas”, he warned.
Southern Mozambique is characterised by irregular rains. With “El Nino” this irregularity increases, endangering the rural population who live on the basis of subsistence, rain-fed agriculture.
Nhantumbo warned there is a high likelihood that, in the coming year, the water requirements of crops in the southern provinces cannot be met, “and this has an impact on the capacity to feed the communities”.
The impact of “El Nino”, he said, will be felt at the start of the rainy season (in September/October) but its maximum impact could hit the country between December 2012 and February 2024, at the peak of the rainy season.
“We are worried about what might happen with the rains in this period, which is strategic in terms of storing water, both for human consumption and for agriculture”, said Nhantumbo.
(AIM)
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