Drought to bite hard till March
Jan 08, 2006
RESIDENTS around Lake Victoria and the semi-arid districts should brace themselves for harsh weather conditions that are likely to persist until March.
By Gerald Tenywa
RESIDENTS around Lake Victoria and the semi-arid districts should brace themselves for harsh weather conditions that are likely to persist until March.
In an interview on Friday, Aloysius Kagoro of the Meteorology Department said the harsh dry weather would continue to mid-March.
Sources said the department is preparing a report for the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment. They said State House is pressing for the weather forecast.
“Most areas had higher than average temperatures and the rainfall was below normal except for Arua,’’ Kagoro said.
He said Entebbe temperature was 28.2 degrees Celsius as opposed to its average of 26.1 degrees Celsius and that this was responsible for the dry conditions. He said this was the trend in the Lake Victoria basin and southwestern Uganda.
“This condition is likely to persist and occasional outbreaks of rainfall may be registered, but may not have an impact on the deficit,’’ he said.
Kagoro said shorter rains than anticipated were to blame for the dry conditions experienced during last month.
He said the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, which is the rainfall generating belt, shifted southwards faster than it was anticipated, reducing the rainfall period in December from 10 to three days.
Kagoro was looking at the assessment of September to December and the weather forecast report for January to March.
Sources said farmers sold the early crop of maize in eastern Uganda to Kenya, which has been severely hit by drought.
Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has declared the northern part of Kenya a disaster area and asked donors to assist.
Kagoro said the cattle corridor in Uganda was severely hit.
Last week, the Government announced emergency measures to mitigate the impact of the drought in parts of the west.
Minister Otafiire said the project would spread nationwide.
Ends
RESIDENTS around Lake Victoria and the semi-arid districts should brace themselves for harsh weather conditions that are likely to persist until March.
In an interview on Friday, Aloysius Kagoro of the Meteorology Department said the harsh dry weather would continue to mid-March.
Sources said the department is preparing a report for the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment. They said State House is pressing for the weather forecast.
“Most areas had higher than average temperatures and the rainfall was below normal except for Arua,’’ Kagoro said.
He said Entebbe temperature was 28.2 degrees Celsius as opposed to its average of 26.1 degrees Celsius and that this was responsible for the dry conditions. He said this was the trend in the Lake Victoria basin and southwestern Uganda.
“This condition is likely to persist and occasional outbreaks of rainfall may be registered, but may not have an impact on the deficit,’’ he said.
Kagoro said shorter rains than anticipated were to blame for the dry conditions experienced during last month.
He said the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, which is the rainfall generating belt, shifted southwards faster than it was anticipated, reducing the rainfall period in December from 10 to three days.
Kagoro was looking at the assessment of September to December and the weather forecast report for January to March.
Sources said farmers sold the early crop of maize in eastern Uganda to Kenya, which has been severely hit by drought.
Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has declared the northern part of Kenya a disaster area and asked donors to assist.
Kagoro said the cattle corridor in Uganda was severely hit.
Last week, the Government announced emergency measures to mitigate the impact of the drought in parts of the west.
Minister Otafiire said the project would spread nationwide.
Ends