It’s Not A Heatwave, Says the Weatherman

Kimberleigh Jiro

The Meteorological Services Department says Zimbabwe is not experiencing a heatwave.

Most parts of Zimbabwe have been experiencing hot conditions over the past few days, with areas like Beitbridge today recording temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius.

Meteorological Services Department chief forecaster, James Ngoma, told ZTN that temperatures are expected to start dropping from Tuesday.

 “In the summer season we expect temperatures to go from hot to very hot in some areas. However, the system that was responsible was bringing us a north easterly airflow. As of tomorrow (Tuesday) we are expecting a cooler south easterly airflow which should cool up much of the atmosphere, so it was just a short-lived system that was giving us this heat over the country. It’s very normal during the summer season.”

Ngoma added that when the period extends beyond 3 or 4 days that is when it can be classified as a heatwave.

The Meteorological services department has been on record encouraging the public to take extra precautions in ensuring that they keep well hydrated through adequate intake of water.