North-Central Nigeria, others may experience delayed rainfall in 2024, says NiMet
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has announced a projected delay in the onset of the 2024 rainy season in certain regions, notably the North-Central states.
This was disclosed in the 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) documents presented to the public on Tuesday in Abuja by Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
According to the document, NiMet said normal onset is likely to occur over the northern states, while Borno and Abia states are predicted to have an early onset compared to their long-term averages.
“An early end of the season is predicted for parts of Yobe, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ogun, and Lagos states.
“However, a late cessation is predicted over the southern states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Ekiti, and parts of Edo, Delta, Ogun, Oyo, Kogi, Kwara, FCT, Niger, and Kaduna.
“The annual rainfall amount is predicted to be below normal over parts of Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano, Kebbi, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River, Delta and Bayelsa states when compared to their long term normal,” NiMet said.
Nonetheless, the agency foresees that other regions of the country may witness normal to above-normal levels of annual rainfall.
It also anticipates that many areas could encounter a shorter rainy season, while Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom are expected to have a longer season compared to their average duration.According to NiMet, normal to shorter seasons will likely occur in other parts of the country.
SCP 2024 document contains detailed predictions for temperature in the first five months of the year.
It also contains the predictions for the dry spell, little dry season, malaria, and meningitis.
