THE Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) is monitoring the Moderate Tropical Storm with 70 kilometres per hour speed from Madagascar which may cause heavy or normal rainfalls in the coast of East Africa in January.

TMA Director of Forecasting Services, Dr Hamza Kabelwa, told the 'Daily News' that the storm may cause rain within ten days of January 2013, saying the storm may have two other stages including severe and cyclone. "The general public should not be worried about the storm as the agency will keep on informing them on its development," he said.

Dr Kabelwa pointed out that the current rains have been caused by the Tropical Depression Cycle (TDC) on the coast of Somalia and that the TDC is a result of climate change. Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.

It may be a change in average weather conditions or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions. TMA recently carried out a study with the aim of giving recommendations on how to cope with climate change in order to enhance effective approaches in the country.

TMA Director General, Dr Agnes Kijazi, said her agency is working with four other institutions on the project to document existing indigenous knowledge which together with scientific information can be integrated in adaptation and mitigation of effects of climate change.

The institutions include the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Ardhi University (ARU), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). The research is being carried out in four villages in Isimani and Mahenge wards in Iringa and Morogoro regions.