After being hit by the persistent dry spells which led to the permanent wilting of maize crop, many areas in Malawi are now experiencing rains.
From mid-January to early February many areas in Malawi had little or no rainfall with the sun hitting hard on crops leading to over 234, 000 hectares of crops being affected.
Last month, President Peter Mutharika asked the country’s faith community and all Malawians to pray for good rains and a good agricultural season following the dry spell.
Reports now show that areas which experienced dry spells are now receiving normal to above normal rainfall.
Most areas have started receiving the rains from Monday this week with others following suit.
Earlier this week, Director of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, Jolamu Nkhokwe said the dryness was due to the influence of the subsiding air surrounding Tropical Cyclone Ava over Madagascar.
In a statement, Nkhokwe further said the current downpour is a result of combined effects of Congo air mass and Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ITCZ.
Nkhokwe however warned that the resumption of rains in central and southern areas is likely to be associated with strong winds, thunder and lightning caused by protracted heating of the atmosphere, which may cause damage to property and life.
“The general public is therefore advised to take precautionary measures such as being in doors whenever thunderstorms occur to avoid being struck by lightning,” warned Nkhokwe in the statement.
Meanwhile, DCCMS has said it is closely monitoring weather development, including tropical cyclone formation in the South West Indian Ocean and in the Mozambique Channel hence the public should be paying attention to weather updates.
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