by Gift Mashoko

Most water dam levels in the country are rising despite fears of an el-nino predicted for this year.

According to ZINWA’s Dam Levels as at 17 December 2018, some of the dams which have had an increase in capacity include Manyame dam, witha full capacity of 480.23 millions of cubic metres has 423.927 millions of cubic metres, showing that the dam is at 88.3% full. Mazvikadei dam with a full capacity of 343.815 is now at 311.952 millions of cubic metres, showing that the dam is now 90.7% full.

This follows predictions which had been made in August 2018, when the Ministry of Environment Water and Climate Change  announced that Zimbabwe could face another climate change induced drought since 2015/2016 season, amid revelations by Government that 2018/2019 rainfall season pointed to the effects of el-nino.

El Nino is the large-scale ocean-atmospheric climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across central and east-central Equatorial Pacific. It usually occurs around December causing below normal rain patterns and above normal temperature in specific areas in the world. Southern Africa is hit hard bringing drought and flooding thereby resulting in little rainfall.

It has been noted that there is need to confirm information gathered by the scientists along with indigenous knowledge systems in order to be precise when it comes to weather forecasts.

The increase in dam levels will in the long run assist people in irrigation projects as well as alleviate hunger fears until the next rains.