Lawmaker attributes erratic weather predictions to archaic technology

Nyeri,

Monday, October 23, 2023

KNA by Samuel Maina

Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge has blamed the use of outdated technology for the inconsistent weather prediction reports released by the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD).

The first-time legislator wondered how the country will ever catch up with the rest of the world in terms of relaying accurate weather data to the public while employing technology and equipment that have been overtaken by events.

Mathenge was reacting to yesterday’s remarks by President Dr William Ruto who disclosed the country was unlikely to witness the much hyped El Nino rains.

Ruto said the findings were in line with a report from the KMD.

“This is a wakeup call for all of us as Kenyans in terms of how fit for purpose our institutions are when the technology that is in use is obsolete. In the recent past we had the opportunity to travel to Colombia with the Deputy President (Rigathi Gachagua) and one of the institutions we visited was the Colombian Coffee Institute where we found that they have weather prediction and weather monitoring stations, some manual and some digital. The digital ones we were told were filing reports every seven minutes. The kind of question we need to ask is the kind of equipment and technology that we have and how good is it for current day weather monitoring and weather forecast,” he posed during today’s Citizen Breakfast morning show.

“We may not be able to monitor the Kenyan microclimate or even the East Africa region microclimate since we are relying on global satellites where wind, air and precipitation (readings) may be way off the mark,” he stated.

Yesterday Dr Ruto gave the clearest hint yet that the country may not after all experience the much awaited El Nino rains.

The Head of State nevertheless assured Kenyans that the short rains will be sufficient in ensuring farmers reap good yields from their lands.

“You recently heard that our country is going to experience El Nino, but who is God, have you heard that those people (KMD) say that we will not have it (El Nino) but there will just be heavy rainfall,” said the Head of State while attending a Sunday Church Service at the Revival Sanctuary of Glory in Riruta Satellite, Dagoretti South yesterday.

On Wednesday last week farmers and residents of Nyeri had every reason to smile after the county recorded the first downpour of the much anticipated El Nino rains.

A week earlier the weatherman had advised farmers to expect the rains starting this week following a report that was released by KMD in August this year.

According to the met report, the rains for the months of October-November -December were to start towards the end of the second week and beginning of the third-week of this month.

But excitement slowly turned to skepticism after the week came to an end without a single drop of rain prompting the County Director of Meteorological Services Mr John Mururi to clarify that the rains were expected to start from the second and third week of October.

He similarly termed the apparent delay as normal and urged those who had already planted not to be worried about losing their seeds as rains will be more than enough.

“You know it(rains)can have a little delay but we had an update of the second and third week (of October). So, I think it’s not very far and anytime it can start raining,” he told KNA last week.

When KNA pressed Muiruri to explain whether the rains will be the much awaited El Nino rains, he clarified that people should distinguish between El Nino phenomenon and rains.

While carefully avoiding to dismiss the rains as El Nino, Muiruri stated that there is no way one can with confidence quantify any downpour with the phenomenon.

“El Nino is not quantifiable. You cannot say with certainty that El Nino has set in or cite a downpour as the onset of the El Nino. El Nino is an intensive and extensive downpour and cannot therefore be qualified by a single day of rains,” he stated.

In September Muiruri had told the media that parts of the county were expected to receive up to 600mm of downpour during the first and second week of October and therefore an urgent need for preparation for such unforeseen occurrences like storm waters, floods and landslides.

He further disclosed that some parts of the county like Kieni East will receive up to 600 mm of rain while others like Othaya, Mukurwe-ini, and Nyeri Central will receive between 500 to 600 mm of rain.

Among areas that will receive the least amount of rain include Mathira and Mugunda ward in Kieni West expected to receive less than 300 mm of rain.

“Caution (is needed) as we are going to have enhanced rainfall so preparedness is very important. They (both county government and residents) have to prepare adequately in all the sectors like roads and lands in matters of soil erosion. We have to prepare because the rains are more than what we normally get,” he had told KNA.

According to a KMD report dated August 30 2023, the climate outlook for the October-November-December period indicated the whole country was likely to experience enhanced rainfall, a departure from what has been the norm for the last few years.

The high precipitation will be driven by warmer than average Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, indicating the presence of El Nino conditions.

Nyeri is one of the counties expected to experience heavy rains throughout the three-month cycle.

Mathenge has also waded into the controversial Athi River land demolitions terming the just concluded exercise a national eyesore.

He also blamed both elected leaders and State officers whom he accused of having turned a blind eye as well-connected unscrupulous individuals were swindling more than 5,000 innocent people to settle in the 4,268-acre land owned by the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC).

“What is happening in Mavoko is our total shame as Kenyans. It doesn’t matter whether you are the President, head of the opposition or whether you are the local Member of Parliament. It is our total shame. These (demolitions) have left every leader in this country totally naked. We are the people who have the utmost responsibility to ensure that what happened in Mavoko should never have happened in this country,” he said.

“Those of us who sat and watched as Kenyans were being conned and sold land by people we know, shame on us. We need to totally clean up the Lands Ministry,” he insisted.  

Hundreds of families in the disputed land were left homeless last week after bulldozers moved in and demolished dozens of structures that had illegally been erected in the expansive land owned by EAPCC.

The State-owned cement firm began the demolitions after the High Court dismissed a case in which the occupants of the land had sued EAPCC claiming legal ownership of the land through the Aimi Ma Lukenya Society.

Last week a Machakos High Court declined to issue conservatory orders to suspend demolitions on the disputed land but also stated that the legal owner of the property was still a matter under litigation.

The aggrieved party had promised to file afresh appeal to the ruling today (Monday). 

Courtesy; KNA