Zambia is set to experience improved rainfall starting next month through to February next year, according to the Zambia Meteorological Department (ZDM).
The Department says that the inconsistent weather pattern experienced in the country recently signals more rainfall to come in the coming weeks.
Peggy Thole, a ZMD Senior Meteorologist, has told Diamond TV that the high temperatures experienced even in the latter days of November will precipitate more rainfall in the coming months.
“We are in the summer and summer for Zambia means rainfall and heat and it is the heat that enhances the rains. When we notice that the temperatures are getting high then we know that the rains are coming,” Thole said.
Thole said that the heat being experienced in some parts of the country should not be a source of worry but hope for more rainfall to come.
“So when we see temperatures getting high it should bring some sort of happiness in that we know that in the next few days we will have rains,” she said.
She added that a number of regions in the country had already started receiving significant amount of rainfall, which is also expected to continue.
“It was quite hot in the past weeks especially around Southern, Lusaka, parts of Central, Eastern and Copperbelt Provinces while the rains were only experienced in some parts of Western, Muchinga and some other provinces in the north.”
As of yesterday, selected parts of the country experienced heavy rainfall and Thole anticipates the weather condition to escalate in the coming days.
“Those parts have continued to receive rainfall and this improvement came in yesterday and it has been widespread, of course with some heavy falls and we are having cloudy conditions everywhere,” she said.
Zambia has experienced its worst droughts induced by the El Niño weather pattern that has caused severe consequences for the nation’s agriculture, water, energy, and food security.