ALTHOUGH the northern and eastern areas of the Eastern Cape are tending towards an above normal start of summer, the rest of the season is characterised by uncertainty tending towards below average rainfall.
This is according to South African Weather Service spokesperson Garth Sampson from the Port Elizabeth weather office who also said, with the Nelson Mandela Bay main storage dams sitting at under 35% this is a very worrying situation. The total rainfall for the last three months is the lowest on record (period 1994 to date) over most of the Eastern Cape. Although there was a bit of temporary relief for the Bay last year, the last significant rains (considered as above 50 mm in 24 hours) occurred in November 2017.
“There is a real possibility of running out of water. It is therefore vital that every person in the province uses water sparingly.”
