SA braces for El Niño recurrence

DROUGHT conditions associated with an El Niño weather pattern are likely to reoccur in a few months time, the government said.

“Recurrence of El Niño drought conditions likely… The next summer season has increased the likelihood for the development of El Niño conditions which are often associated with drought and water scarcity as seen recently in South Africa,” it said.

The previous El Niño, which faded in May, brought widespread drought to southern Africa, hitting crop production and fuelling inflation across the region while leaving millions in need of food aid.

South Africa’s weather service and global forecasters have predicted El Niño will form between July and September.

“Likelihood has increased from previous assessments.

“As we near winter, these forecasts improve in reliability.”

It said the issue had been raised at a meeting on Wednesday of the National Disaster Management Advisory Forum, which co-ordinates the government’s response to such events.

Should El Niño return, it would be the first time it reformed so quickly since the mid-1960s.

El Niño is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific every few years. In Africa, it brings excessive rains to the east while the south remains parched.