Weather tracker: heavy rainfall causes flooding and death in east Africa

Eastern Africa has knowledgeable dense rainfall successful caller weeks, pinch Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi experiencing flooding. About 100,000 group person been displaced aliases different affected successful each country, pinch reported deaths reaching 32 successful Kenya and 58 successful Tanzania, alongside harm to farmland and infrastructure.

There are besides fears that ample areas of opinionated h2o could springiness emergence to outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

The Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has been peculiarly affected this week. The metropolis usually records astir 150mm of rainfall successful April, but has truthful acold received an estimated 200-300mm, pinch immoderate unofficial upwind stations having reported overmuch higher amounts. Flooding dispersed done nan metropolis connected Wednesday, pinch group forced to return refuge connected their roofs, wherever galore slept overnight.

The accrued rainfall is linked to nan Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a periodic change successful somesthesia crossed nan Indian Ocean, akin to nan better-known El Niño arena successful nan Pacific. The IOD is now successful a affirmative phase, during which warmer waters move into occidental parts of nan ocean, accentuating rainfall successful eastbound Africa.

This effect is further intensified erstwhile a affirmative IOD shape coincides pinch El Niño, arsenic is now nan case; a powerful El Niño arena that began past June is drafting to a conclusion.

Meanwhile successful Europe, aft a very lukewarm commencement to April, nan past week saw temperatures autumn good beneath normal for each but Iberia and nan eastbound Mediterranean. In Munich, temperatures peaked astatine 25C connected 14 April, but fell to 3.6C by 23 April. Overnight frosts were reasonably wide crossed cardinal Europe and nan Balkan peninsula betwixt 20 and 25 April, while parts of France, Germany and nan Netherlands knowledgeable locally terrible frosts pinch minimum temperatures arsenic debased arsenic -6C.

The unseasonable temperatures resulted from a ample area of precocious unit that developed towards nan north-west and later nan westbound of Europe, allowing colder aerial to descend southwards crossed overmuch of nan continent. Cooler conditions successful precocious April are not uncommon, but terrible frosts successful precocious outpouring are rare, and tin person important impacts connected nan cultivation industry. Several mitigation measures person been instated complete caller days to protect susceptible early play plants from frost damage.

Temperatures successful cardinal Europe are to retrieve into adjacent week, pinch nan warmest spots successful Germany and Poland expecting adjacent to 30C by Tuesday, but it will stay cool for Spain and confederate France.