-as current rainfall surpasses average amount
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) yesterday advised the public to take necessary action to mitigate the possible impacts of localised flooding driven by the high intensity rainfall currently being experienced.
The MoA, in a statement last evening, said the El Niño dry weather phenomenon, which started in June 2009, continues to weaken, as Guyana has been experiencing an increase in rainfall as of April 5. It is expected that the current weather will continue well into the weekend and possibly into next week.
After experiencing several months of almost complete dryness, the MoA stated, several rainfall stations have recorded in excess of their long-term average/normal (30 years) for the month of April over 2 to 4 rain-days.
The agency stated that the records suggest that most stations in Region 3 (including Uitvlugt, De Kendren, Leonora, and Boerasirie) have already exceeded their normal levels by more than 60%.
In Georgetown, rainfall has already exceeded its long term average for the month of April (140.5 mm) by 73% while Ogle, Vryheid’s Lust, Mon Repos, LBI and MARDS on the East Coast Demerara have also exceeded their normal levels by as much as 50%.
On April 15, when most parts of the city were inundated, other areas such as Charity ( 9.1 inches), Mon Repos (3.8 inches),and MARDS ( 3.7 inches) recorded significant levels of rainfall.
These extremely high intensities of rainfall were the primary driving force which caused the localised flooding experienced in the city and along the coast, the MoA stated. The agency noted that the above normal rainfall recorded over such a short period indicates that the country has been experiencing very high intensity rainfall over the past ten days.
The MoA stated that this increase in rainfall activity has been due primarily to the annual northward movement of the Inter-Tropical Conver-gence Zone (ITCZ). With the approaching of the summer in the northern hemisphere, it is common to have the influence of a sometimes strong west to east sub-tropical jet in the upper levels/atmosphere. This powerful band of wind flow, the Ministry stated, has been interacting with the ITCZ to produce the current high intensity rainfall that has been affecting Guyana and its neighbouring countries.
It is anticipated, with some breaks, the current trend in rainfall will continue until Guyana reaches the peak of its primary rainfall season in May/June and, according to the MoA, the current rainfall being experienced fits well with the outputs of several international climate models in recent weeks, which have all been suggesting the transitioning to El Niño neutral conditions by mid-year.
The Hydromet Department continues to anticipate El Niño neutral conditions, while at the same time recognising that weather patterns are suggesting a tendency toward a La Niña influence.
