Will El Nino return this season?

The years 2014 to 2016 will be remembered as being some of the driest on record, a period during which temperatures reached 46-year peaks and Gaborone Dam failed for the first time in its history, turning the capital into a treasure hunt for water, as residents spent most of their time laden with containers, in search of the liquid gold. Farmers, especially in the South, were not spared as they watched in disbelief as their crops wilted in heatwave after heatwave.Former president Ian Khama, in his then capacity as Southern African Development Community (SADC) chair, issued a P26 billion regional appeal for humanitarian aid, the first in 14 years, as silos emptied, joining a conspiracy started on the fields. Behind this misery was El Niño, the weather cycle, defined by prolonged warming in Pacific Ocean surface temperatures.

The phenomenon produces increased thunderstorms in places such as South America and colder winters in Europe.