Agriculture Reporter
Dry weather conditions are expected to continue in the southern parts of the country for the next week, the Meteorological Services Department has said. Little rainfall activity in the southern areas have seen crops wilting and in some instances being written off.

Meteorological Services Department head of forecasting Mr Tich Zinyemba yesterday said no rains were expected anytime soon in those areas.

“These areas have received low rainfall during the past two days and will continue experiencing the dry spell as no rains are expected in the next weeks,” he said.

Masvingo, Zvishavane, Matabeleland South and Beitbridge are some of the areas that have been severely affected by the dry spell.

Matabeleland South has received 1mm, Zaka 6mm, Zvishavane 2mm, Beitbridge 1mm, Tsholotsho 8mm, Nkayi 9mm and Gokwe 10mm. Other areas received meaningful rainfall on Monday. In Manicaland, Mukandi received 62mm, Karoi 45mm, Kutsaga 51mm, Mvurwi 36mm, Karoi 32mm and Rusape 33mm.

Mr Zinyemba said temperatures were getting cold and rainfall was expected to get light.

“We do not expect more rains. The weather is getting cold and we expect drizzle and light showers for areas such as Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central. There will not be significant rains in the southern parts of the country for the next week,” he said.

The Meteorological Services Department indicated in early January that it intended to conduct national cloud seeding operations from January to March and appealed for the urgent release of funds. The department requires $97 000 to pay off the 2013/ 14 arrears to the hired company and $150 000 as deposit for 100 hours of cloud seeding.

For Masvingo, Matabeleland South, southern areas of Manicaland and Midlands, the rainfall was expected to be generally light.

Cloud seeding is a technique that increases rainfall in a target area.

It is normally conducted from November 1 to the end of March when conditions are suitable. There has been a shift in the rainfall pattern and distribution and experts have attributed this to climate change.