HARARE - Experts have predicted normal and above-normal rainfall for the first quarter of 2011. Meeting at a Regional Climatic Outlook Forum last week weekend, the weathermen also predicted heavy flooding in the Zambezi Valley in the January to March 2011 period.
Addressing delegates to the Meteorological Association of Southern Africa (MASA) annual general meeting that took place concurrently, Allowance Sango, the acting secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development, called upon SADC member countries to come up with comprehensive measures to counter the effects of increasing droughts and floods induced by climate change.
He lauded the region for establishing a regional climate services centre as this would equip member countries to address challenges facing the meteorological services.
We need to know what is going on with the climate of our region and where we are heading. What we know is that weather patterns are not behaving as before; we are witnessing more droughts and floods that before, food security is no longer guaranteed, said Sango
Brad Garanganga, the SADC Co-ordinator on Drought Monitoring, said the development of proper climate products would benefit the region enormously.
More attention needs to be paid towards addressing areas that are handicapping the region from fully taking advantage of advances in climate science, he said
Post published in: News