Drought prevails in Namibia

By Jana-Mari Smith

Record low rainfall and drought conditions prevailed during the month of February 2013 in Namibia. 

According to a report issued this week by the Namibia Meteorological Service (NMS) the worst hit drought areas are in the southern parts of the country “where the rainy season has hardly started in earnest”. 

Apart from the extreme north-east where the NMS say records show that rainfall was at “near normal levels” the rest of the country has had to deal with more than 70 per cent less than normal rainfall expectations. 

And because January and February comprise the peak of Namibia’s rain season, the extreme low rainfall has “greatly intensified” the drought conditions, the NMS reported. 

The outlook for the period 11 to 17 March includes predictions of a heat wave in the interior, the NMS stated. Mainly partly cloudy conditions will prevail over most of the country during this period. 

Here is a table of the February 2013 rainfall and seasonal cumulative numbers:

Table courtesy of NMS.  

Table 1

Table 1