East African countries near the equator are bracing for high El Niño-related rainfall that meteorologists warn may cause floods, crop losses and disease in the coming months, reports SciDevNet. The region is set to experience much more rain than usual during the October-December wet season, and possibly until early next year, forecasts say — although the rains may be less heavy than those experienced during the powerful 1997-98 El Niño ocean warming event.
Samuel Mbuya, a meteorologist at the Tanzania Meteorological Agency, says his country is well prepared to cope with the effects of the rains, and urges “citizens, especially in northern Tanzania, to be alert and follow weather updates issued by meteorologists.” In the long term, East African farmers should also prepare for the drought that is likely to follow the El Niño rains by picking drought-tolerant crop varieties, advises Rodney Lunduka of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Zambia.