NAN
The Meteorological Department has asked Kenyans to expect more heavy rains and cold spell as the East African nation’s weather continues to be erratic.
The Meteorological department in its latest brief noted that the rains would last for about a week and would be heavy
in Nairobi and neighboring districts.
“The Central highlands would experience mainly cool and cloudy mornings with the possibility of evening
rains up to Sept. 3,” said the department Wednesday.
Others places that will experience rains include the central highlands of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga,
Kiambu, Murang’a and Naivasha.
The current rains pile misery to residents of Nairobi and the neighbouring regions that have been grappling
with a lengthy cold spell that began in June and lasts to date.
In Nairobi, the capital, chilly weather started in late May and is still biting to date, more than a month
after it had been predicted to end.
Among those hit harder by the lengthy chilly weather are farmers, including those who keep chickens and grow
crops like tomatoes and potatoes.
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Several places across Kenya have been hit by unexpectedly heavy rains in the last few days, disrupting business
as the rains catch residents unawares.
In the capital Nairobi, heavy rains that caught many unawares on Monday evening created traffic gridlock on
all major city roads.
A majority of city dwellers who rely on public transport spent hours on queues that saw some arrive at their
homes in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Motorists, similarly, had to endure long hours on roads as the rainwater flooded highways exacerbating
the situation.
For the chicken farmers, a majority have seen their egg production halve as the cold weather causes stress
to the birds.
Poultry diseases like coccidiosis and infectious coryza and pneumonia, which affect animals like goats,
have also been on the rise.
Experts have blamed the current situation to the ongoing effects of climate change, which have made the
weather in the East African nation increasingly unpredictable.