Forecast too shallow to help the public

The meteorological department has occasionally been in inconsistent with their predictions, leaving the public to rely on stone-age knowledge to determine weather.

Consequently, Kenyans have suffered as a result of the ‘shallow’ predictions.

It is intriguing that despite global climatic change, we still hear of archaic terms like “long rains” and “short rains”.

These terms are not only archaic and confusing, but arguably unreliable, especially to farmers who still depend on rainfall pattern to determine their farming activities.

Weather forecast in local TV channels and radio stations is so shallow.

Most weather forecast programmes are hurriedly aired that one can’t decipher what specific areas are referred to.

Take for instance; a radio presenter saying, “areas around Kisumu, Kakamega, Kericho, Nakuru, entire Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions will experience light showers in the afternoon accompanied by lightning...and it continues. Later that day in the news you learn that heavy downpour caused havoc sweeping villages in some of the areas noted earlier.

Weather is an important part of our daily lives and sheer negligence should not be given room for continuity and might be very costly if proper caution is not taken.

The meteorological department should team-up with media houses to ensure that the information relayed to the public regarding the weather conditions of the day is reliable and accurate.

[Victor Nyakachunga, Via e-mail]