The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet) has given reasons for the continuous rainfalls at this time of the year in the country.
Nimet through its Central Forecast Office (CFO), which was signed by Prof. Mansur Matazu, its Director-General, attributed the rainfalls to an opening that linked mid-latitude trough with the thermal-lows over West-Africa.
The traditional rainfall period in Nigeria is between April and October, but most parts of the country, especially the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and most parts of the Northern states have continued to witness torrential rainfalls.
Matazu explained that the mid-latitude trough pulls the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD) far northward above the country (from approx. Lat 8.00N to about 12.00N within 48hrs), by implication there was a mass influx of moisture far into the country, especially to the western half of the country.
The statement hinted that conversely, ITD is expected to have a southward displacement during this season.
According to NiMet, with this moisture influx, and already high energy in the atmosphere, it is only natural that there would be condensation and formation of clouds.
The cloud build-up over the Northwestern and Northcentral parts of the country, including Abuja, FCT, resulted in thunderstorms that were experienced recently on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th November, 2023.
- Matazu added: “Climate variability is the main factor responsible for this phenomenon. It results in modulation of natural atmospheric processes which contributes to short-term fluctuations in weather, due to both natural and anthropogenic influences on the global atmospheric processes, which has given way to changes in patterns of weather and climate conditions in the atmosphere. This is not exclusive to Nigeria alone, the statement reads.
- “In recent times, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have led to an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. This enhanced greenhouse effect is causing changes in the Earth’s climate, a phenomenon commonly referred to as climate change.”
Nimet said that it continued to observe, monitor, predict and report weather and climate information on its entire social-media platform, including its website.
It added that the weather of the days in question were equally forecasted and was well-reported.
“However, this is not a change in the season as predicted, rather, fluctuations based on temporary weather modulators,” he added.
NiMet assured it would continue to update the public on necessary weather updates.
