Speaking at a stakeholders workshop hosted by Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau, Gwanda Mayor, Lionel Denecker, said information should be relayed to the relevant communities to mitigate problems brought about by climate change.
Speaking at the same occasion, Councillor Sister Moyo Bhebhe said the recent heat wave had been negatively affecting her community. “We rely on fans to cool us down, but some days even they are ineffective,” she said.
The condition had been made worse by the lack of rains since December last year.
“We last had rain in late December and it was too much in too short a time; the run-off caused sheet and soil erosion.”
Director of ZWB, Ronika Mumbire, said it was important for communities to understand the dynamics of climate change and global warming.
“Communities should be educated about these issues in order to come up with ways to avert a crisis in their area. Stakeholders should also identify and support possible community-based strategies for vulnerable groups,” said Mumbire. ZERO Project Officer, Joseph Madzvamuse, said climate change would affect the country in a number of different ways.
“Climate change is bound to have a negative impact on rainfall patterns.
Expectations are that annual rainfall will decrease in all seasons,” he said. “The frequency and duration of dry spells is likely to increase. Extreme weather such as heat waves and heavy precipitation will be more frequent, presenting high risks of drought and flooding.”
Post published in: News