MATABELELAND region will experience normal to below normal rainfall in the first and second period of the rainy season, the Meteorological Department said yesterday.

Climate change has resulted in weather extremes, characterised by lengthy drought spells, which have affected most of Matabeleland, in ecological region five which naturally receives low rainfall.

Meteorological Department provincial officer Rodgers Munyira said: “Our rain season is in two parts, we have the first period that is October to December and the second period January to March. In Matabeleland North, for the first period we are expecting normal rainfall and for the second period we are expecting low to below normal rainfall.”

Munyira added: “In Matabeleland South, we are expecting a normal rainfall in the first period and a biased towards below normal in the end.

“We do not have a specific day when the rain will start; we have a projection on how the rain will behave. When we have definite indicators of rain, that would give us a 10-day forecast, but now we cannot say that because we are experiencing long dry spells.”Munyira said rainfall patterns across the country would vary with region.

In the last rainy season, most parts of Zimbabwe experienced low rainfall which has resulted in many dams drying up.