Scorching temperatures; few showers
With February almost over and characterised by extremely high temperatures and little rainfall across the country, there is still some hope that conditions will look more positive for March.The South African weather expert Johan van den Berg said that February is usually one of the better rainfall months for Namibia, something that was not the case this year.
"Currently we are already past mid-February and little rain has been received," Van den Berg said.
According to him, extremely high temperatures have been recorded in the country since the beginning of February, with some places where the mercury hit above 40°C. He referred to high pressure systems over the Indian and Atlantic Oceans which are the main reason for the dry and hot conditions which make it unfavorable for rain. However, Van den Berg said an improvement in rainfall in Namibia can be expected by the end of February to the beginning of March.
The poor rainfall figures were confirmed by the Namibia Meteorological Services which released their figures for January.
According to the latest rainfall bulletin, the majority of //Kharas, Hardap, Erongo and the southern parts of Kunene recorded poor rainfall of less than 20mm. However, Kunene's northern parts and most of the northeastern quadrant of the country recorded between 40 mm and 200 mm and more. A few weather stations in the north and north-east recorded more than 200 mm like Sachona (259 mm), Enguwantale (209 mm), Eheke (205 mm), Kasheshe (204 mm) and Kaisosi (203 mm).
According to the bulletin, rainfall for the period 1 October 2023 to 31 January this year was mostly below average for most of the country. The northern parts of Kunene, Ohangwena, Oshana, Oshikoto and parts of Omusati, Kavango West, Kavango East and Zambezi received average rainfall. According to the bulletin, it is clear that Namibia has had below-normal rainfall since the start of the season until January.
Meanwhile, residents of Windhoek have again exceeded the municipal target for water consumption by 11%. The capital is experiencing a category C water shortage and 10% water savings are needed to sustainably meet the demand.
The total average of the dam levels in the country also fell to 56% compared to the previous season's 71.3%.
In the central areas of Namibia, the average dam levels are a low 24.2% compared to last year's 46.3%. Swakoppoort stands at 41.6%, Von Bach at 12% and Omatako at just 1%. The average level of the three-dam system that supplies the capital with water is 21.2% compared to the previous season's 43.8%. The level of the Hardap Dam near Mariental has dropped to 14.9%. When the level of 6% of its capacity is reached, water flow to the Hardap Dam scheme will be stopped.