Dry spell expected to continue beyond festive season

“Major parts of South Africa are likely to experience dry conditions and intense heat during the festive season and beyond as they will have little rainfalls,” said Dr Dennis Dlamini, a hydrologist at the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).

Dlamini, who was addressing delegates at a workshop in Pretoria, spoke about poor rain prospects for several of the country’s provinces, some which have been experiencing drought conditions.

Dlamini said except for the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, “the rest of the country must brace itself for a below-average rainfall during the period in question”.

However, he warned of the need to be prepared for flash floods, saying that even though meagre rainfall was predicted for most of the country, stakeholders should “be on stand-by in case there were flash floods”.

He explained that the department has “Near Real-Time Equipped Flow and Dam Level Observations Stations” to enable early flood warning and limited flood control using capable infrastructure.

He said the DWS had a network of water level gauging sites situated in rivers, dams, estuaries, and water supply pipelines throughout the country.

The purpose of these stations were for “water resources assessment and planning, monitoring water supply and for flow & flood monitoring and forecasting”. - ANA

(File photo: Gallo Images)