NAIROBI: Kenya Meteorological Services (KMS) has dismissed a report by the Nairobi County Government that Nairobi will experience high rainfall in September.
While acknowledging the fact that there is an impending El Nino, KMS Deputy Director Peter Ambeje told The Standard that it is too early to know the intensity of the expected rainfall.
"Most people have the misconception that El Nino means extreme rainfall like the one that was experienced in 1997. This is not always the case, and it is now that we are analyzing the forecast to know the kind of rainfall patterns to expect," said Ambeje.
He said that Kenya had experienced El Nino in 2002 and 2006, yet the rain was not as high as it had been in 1997.
The Nairobi County Environment Executive Evans Ondieki had last week warned the city’s residents to prepare for heavy rainfall.
"Predictions are that the enhanced rainfall will reach the strongest levels ever seen in the last four decades as the world heads into the El Nino season," said Ondieki during a press briefing at his office on Monday last week.
However, Ambeje on Monday said that KMS is not aware of where the county government got their data from, since KMS is yet to release the actual amount of rains expected. He said that it could be of low intensity, and they will only be sure once the data is released on September 1.
He urged the concerned ministries to ensure that they have put mitigation measures in case there is intense rain. Residents of informal settlements have been told to ensure that they observe sanitation and clear up their drainage system so that they don't get waterborne diseases.
