Published by the government of Zimbabwe
2 July 2009
Harare — ZIMBABWEANS should take precautions against the effects of ground frost as the cold spell that the country has been experiencing since Monday is expected to persist until early September, the Meteorological Services Department has said.
This comes amid reports of livestock, especially goats and cattle, succumbing to the low temperatures, which dropped to minus 12 degrees this week.
In an interview yesterday, Met Department director Dr Amos Makarau urged farmers to make sheds for their animals and parents to ensure that their children have warm protective clothing.
"July is generally the coldest month of the year. This time around we are expecting much colder and windy weather lasting until the early days of September.
"Farmers should, therefore, make sure that they remove their animals, particularly cattle and goats, from pens and keep them in sheds during the night as severe ground frost is forecast. There are several reports of cattle and goats dying due to low temperatures in some parts of the country, hence farmers should take necessary precautions," he said.
Dr Makarau said horticulture farmers should visit their Arex offices to get advice on how to protect crops from ground frost.
The weather expert also urged parents to ensure that their children have warm jerseys, woollen hats and gloves to protect them from frost.
"Cases of flu will be on the rise as it is going to be cold and windy until September. It does not, however, necessarily follow that every day will be cold," Dr Makarau said.
So far, the worst affected provinces are Midlands, Matabeleland South and Mashonaland East from where, Dr Makarau said, reports were coming of livestock, especially goats and cattle, succumbing to the low temperatures, which dropped to minus 12 degrees this week.
He, however, did not give figures of the animals that had died from the cold.
Dr Makarau warned against completely closing windows when using braziers (mbaura), saying people may risk burning or suffocating inside their houses.
Zimbabwe has experienced cold temperatures and ground frost since the beginning of the week.
Dr Makarau said ground frost is measured by ground thermometers positioned not higher than 1,5 metres above the ground.
"Minimum temperatures in some traditionally cold areas like Gweru, Marondera, Matopos and Nyanga are expected to fall to as low as minus 3 degrees Celsius.
"Ground temperatures, however, should be mostly below freezing in the early mornings, reaching minus 6 degrees Celsius in some places.
"Maximum temperatures are expected to be no more than 19 degrees Celsius for most parts of the country. Windy and occasionally drizzly conditions should add to the degree of coldness in the eastern half of the country," said a separate statement released by the Met Department's Central Forecast Office.
Reports from South Africa say three people have died due to the cold spell.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
