- The Kenya Meteorological Service attributed the delay in short rains to tropical storm activity over the northern Indian Ocean
- KMS Director Hannah Kimani said low-pressure systems temporarily halted the southward movement of a key weather system linked to Kenya's rainfall
- Kimani noted that tropical storms can either bring rainfall or suppress it, depending on their trajectory
Amos Khaemba is a Current Affairs Editor at TUKO.co.ke, covering general news. Khaemba has over four years of journalism experience and joined TUKO.co.ke in 2022.
Nairobi - The Kenya Meteorological Service (KMS) has offered an explanation for the delayed onset of rainfall in parts of the country during the October-December short rains season, pointing to the development of tropical storm systems over the northern Indian Ocean.
Source: UGC
Hannah Kimani, Director of Public Weather Services at KMS, said the formation of low-pressure systems over the northern Indian Ocean disrupted the normal southward movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the weather system that drives Kenya's short rains.
How the ITCZ drives Kenya's short rains
The ITCZ typically migrates from the Northern Hemisphere towards the Southern Hemisphere between October and December, triggering rainfall across different regions of Kenya as it progresses. Kimani noted that some areas had already recorded their onset before the disruption took effect.
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"During October to December, the Intertropical Convergence Zone brings us rainfall when it moves from the north to the southern hemisphere. This had started, with some areas recording their onset as early as the first week of October, like the western region, while the Coast had its onset as early as September," she said.
Why tropical storms interrupted the rains
The trouble began when low-pressure systems formed over the northern Indian Ocean, stalling the ITCZ's progression southward and leaving parts of Kenya experiencing unexpectedly dry conditions.
"We started having low-pressure systems developing over the northern Indian Ocean, and this temporarily stopped the southward progression of the Intertropical Convergence Zone," Kimani explained.
She said the disruption accounted for the dry weather that persisted in regions that would ordinarily have been receiving rainfall by that point in the season.
"That is why we have been experiencing the dry weather conditions in a period where we expected rains in other parts of the country," she added.
Kimani cautioned that the relationship between tropical storms and local rainfall is not straightforward, as outcomes vary based on the direction and path each storm takes.
"These tropical storms, depending on the trajectory, bring rainfall, or they take away from us," she said.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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