El Niño ebbs after summer of despair

Friday, April 05, 2024 | 650 Views |

Feared and loathed: Droughts have become more frequent and harmful as climate change tightens its grip PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

Local meteorologists say the El Niño phenomenon that has caused heatwaves since October, devastating crops and killing livestock and wildlife, is gradually ebbing away.

The phenomenon shift comes not a moment too soon after an update made available this week shows over 9,000 drought-related reported cattle deaths in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe between October 2023 and February 2024.

“A record mid-season dry spell of over 30 days has affected vast parts of the region including Angola, Botswana, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe,” SADC researchers stated. “These areas have received the lowest rainfall for the late-January/February timeframe in at least 40 years.”

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