By Pempho Nkhoma and Benedicto Maguda

Blantyre, October 24, Mana: Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS) on Wednesday engaged different sectors in Blantyre District to disseminate information about 2024-2025 rainy seasons forecasting of the district.

Deputy Director for Observation and Forecasting at DCCMS, Charles Vanya, said the forecast report indicated that Blantyre is expected to receive normal rainfall from October to December while in January the district will receive above normal rainfall.

“This season we are going to be affected by La Nina which is likely to bring a lot of rains. So different sectors within the district need to plan ahead in preparing for the coming of the rainy season,” he said.

Vanya emphasized on the importance of the meeting saying that the forecast that they had issued that Blantyre will receive normal to above normal rainfall from January to April implied that there will be a lot of rains in the district.

“We are going to have a lot of rains which may lead to waterlogging in low areas. At the same time, we have also mentioned that there may be dry spell of over a week which means some areas may be affected with have relatively dry crops,” Vanya added.

Deputy Director for Disaster Preparedness at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), Fedson Chikuse, commended DCCMS for engaging them saying that the forecast will be useful in disaster preparedness.

“The information that they have shared is very important because it will give us a chance to prepare. For example, they said this year’s rainfall will be normal to above normal which obviously indicates that we will have issues about floods in the district,” he said.

Chief Agriculture Extension Officer at Blantyre ADD, Gertrude Kumwenda said that most farmers in the district depend on rainfall and the forecast will be useful.

“Most of the farmers here are smallholder farmers and they depend on rain feed agriculture. Therefore, this information will assist them to make informed decision when choosing the right variety of crop, they will grow to make sure that they have bumper harvest this year,” she said.

The 2024-25 rainy season for Blantyre District is expected to last for about 120 to 135 days.