Zim's Met Department to conduct cloud seeding

Zim's Met Department to conduct cloud seeding
Published: 22 September 2017
The Meteorological Services Department says it will conduct cloud seeding early this year so that farmers in region two and three will not be affected by late rains during the first half of the season.

Region 2 consists of the bulk of Matabeleland North, parts of Midlands and parts of Mashonaland West while region 3 is made up of Masvingo, the bulk of Midlands, extreme southern parts of Manicaland and the bulk of Matabeleland South.

MSD director, Dr Amos Makarau said the weather patterns showed a good farming season for the country as long as inputs are made available on time. "As for crop production, the most reliable rains are expected from mid-November onwards. Until that time rains will be very erratic in October and November for regions one and two," he said.

"We have always said the Government should always plan for a drought every year because rainfall distribution is not the same in all areas. There are some rain shadow areas that may require assistance," he said.

The Met Department will be once again requesting for funding for cloud seeding. "This time we want to take advantage of rain bearing clouds and want to start cloud seeding as early as November especially in the southern parts of the country," he said.

Dr Makarau added that the 2017/2018 season was an average season in terms of rainfall compared to the previous season. "The 2016/17 season was highly unusual and should not be used as a benchmark. The weather will still be favourable if inputs are there on time and there is irrigation. We do not anticipate a major drought.

With the national dams at about 80 percent full, Dr Makarau warned that in some areas there may be flooding incidents as the dams overflow with more water received this season. He also warned of disease outbreaks in urban areas because of the rains.

"We are concerned that now most of our dams are almost full and any smaller amounts of rain from December onwards may lead to flooding in some areas.  We should concentrate on water harvesting so that we harness the water for irrigation," he added.

Zimbabwe is expected to receive normal rainfall during the 2017/18 season with southern parts of the country expected to receive normal to below normal rains.

Region one was expected to receive normal rains with a bias towards above normal rains during the first half of the rainfall season (October, November to December).

"The southern parts of the country which is region two and three will receive normal rains with a bias towards below normal rainfall. However as from December, January, February and March 2018, the season throughout the country will receive normal to above normal rains," she said.
- bh24
Tags: Met, Cloudseeding,

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