All districts in the country will have normal rains during the entire month of January, with parts of the south-west expected to receive higher amounts than the rest of the country, the Rwanda Meteorology Agency (Meteo Rwanda) has said. The weatherman says the rainfall expected in all districts during January 2020 is in the range between 75mm to 150mm. Some parts of the Southern Province, however, are “expected to receive high amount of rainfall than the rest of the country” at a range of 125mm to 150mm. Mathieu Mbati, the acting Division Manager of Weather or Climate Services and Applications, told The New Times that people should not worry as these rains will not be as destructive as they were last month as “it is slight above normal range in January.” “Rainfall in January is between 60mm to 120mm depending on the topography of the area. It’s not destructive at all because it is in a normal range.” On Christmas day, he said, Nyarugenge District received 140mm in a single storm. “During this month we are expecting to receive light rain with the monthly accumulation not exceeding 150mm.” The Rwanda Meteorology Agency’s December 2019 climatology bulletin and January Forecast indicates that eastern province is expected to receive rainfall at a range of 75mm to 100mm this month, while most other areas receive between 100mm and 125mm of rainfall. According to the Meteorology Agency, in January, the areas expected to receive good rainfall are likely to have: improvement in pasture and foliage for livestock; possible losses of final crop yield; and, due to the expected enhanced rainfall in western and southern parts, the areas should be closely monitored for floods. Lightning strikes, especially in the Western side of Congo Nil and transmission of water-related diseases are other potential impacts.
