Somalilandsun: Residents of western regions of Somaliland have been urged to watch out for moderate rains in the next three days
This is as a result of Cyclone Gati which has created unfavorable conditions around the Horn of Africa region since making a landfall on November 22.
In Somaliland, it has made the sea conditions much rougher than normal especially in the eastern Sanaag and western Awdal regions where sea conditions are unbearable, according to a jointly written report by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM).
Consequently, fishermen in the affected areas have been warned against going to the seas.
Sanaag, Maroodi-jeeh and Awdal regions also recorded moderate to heavy rains due to storm characterized by strong winds though no loss of human lives, livestock death and destruction of properties has been reported.
On the other hand, the unusual heavy rains in the area also led to immediate and short term recharge of subsurface water sources and pasture growth especially in the three regions of Somaliland which has had a prolonged dry period since September 2020. However, these rains are not sufficient to cater the water deficit in the area.
Hot and dry conditions will persist in Somaliland and Puntland with the rainy season coming to an end.
There remains a great concern in Somaliland and a few other places in the country due to insufficient rains during the Deyr season. With no more rains expected until the next rainy season in April 2021, the condition could deteriorate further towards a drought situation. This is confirmed further by the current climate models confirming a higher certainty of La Niña conditions persisting through March 2021. SWALIM and other technical partners are on the lookout of such developments.
Readers are advised that this is a forecast and at times there may be discrepancies between estimates and actual amounts of rainfall received. Information on the forecast and observed river levels is updated daily and can be found on this link: http://frrims.faoswalim.org
