TMA focuses forecasts on coastal belt

TMA Director General Dr Agnes Kijazi

 The Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) is expected to release information regarding the possibility of El Nino rains in the coastal belt.

 

The agency has warned people to take precautions, saying that heavy rains being experienced in various regions was forecasted but residents failed to get prepared for such event.

 

TMA Director General Dr Agnes Kijazi said Lake Zone areas will continue to receive heavy downpours until around April next year.

 

The possibility of intense El Nino flooding along the coast results from the increased temperatures in the tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean, she said.

 

The zone has been recording increased temperatures extending to areas of the Indian Ocean but those temperatures haven’t yet been felt along the East African coastal zone.

 

“Once there is an increase in temperature from the Pacific tropical zone to the Indian Ocean, then to our country’s coastal areas, El Nino rains are likely to be felt in Dar es Salaam and neighboring regions. We therefore urge the public continue looking out for weather forecast information as we have been updating the data even on a weekly basis,” the director urged.

 

Dr Kijazi was speaking yesterday during the launch of a one-day workshop, ‘Enhancing the National Climate Service’ which involved various forecasts information users.

 

The forecast information system has now improved as the agency was more easily available to anyone in need, she said, elaborating that the workshop would focus on weather information quality. TMA has sought to be up to date in its function of make sure that all (information) users, especially ordinary ones such as farmers and fishermen are timely put in the picture, she stated.

 

Availability of on-time information will help in directing users at what time to conduct their routine activities, she pointed out.

 

Early in August TMA warned on the possibility of El Nino rains all the way from September to December in most parts of the country. Up to now the coastal belt has had less than predicted rainfall but at midweek heavy sporadic downpour caused floodin in many suburbs of the city of Dar es Salaam.

 

Various other areas have been experiencing excessive rains as  predicted, for instance Uyui District in Tabora Region where it was reported  mid this week that rains damaged or washed away  more than 150 housing units in several villages, rending hundreds homeless.