NAIROBI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The period from July to September is expected to bring heavy rainfall across the larger part of the Horn of Africa region, the Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC) of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc, said on Thursday.
ICPAC said in its latest forecast that heavier-than-usual rains will be experienced, especially in July, across Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, and Sudan.
The institution noted that the corresponding temperature pattern during the period will be warmer than average. "The warmer conditions are expected over northern and southern Sudan, South Sudan, central to southern Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania."
However, some parts of the region will be drier and cooler than usual during this period, it said.
Drier-than-usual conditions are expected in areas in South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, ICPAC said, adding that normal-to-cooler-than-normal temperature conditions will be recorded over northwestern Somalia, northern Ethiopia, southern Djibouti, Eritrea, central Sudan, and cross-border areas of Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing climate extremes that range from droughts to floods, affecting livelihoods, according to Mohamed Ware, deputy executive secretary of IGAD.
Over the years, the period from July to September will be dry, enabling maize, the main staple crop planted across the region in April, to mature, dry, and be harvested. The onset of the rains due to climate change means the sequence will be affected, hurting food security. ■
