Heavy Rains To Continue Till Mid-July

The meteorologist is warning of more rains accompanied by strong winds in the next couple of weeks.

Aviation Meteorology Inspector at the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Dr. Steve Nyarkotey Quao says the eastern parts of the country could experience the highest rainfall, as series of clouds continue to build up in the seas due to changes in temperature and humidity (monsoon) over the land. The month of June actually marks the onset of the monsoon rains, he said.

The monsoon of western Sub-Saharan Africa migrates northward from the equatorial Atlantic in February and reaches western Africa on or near June 22. It moves back to the south by October. The dry, northeasterly trade winds, and their more extreme form, the harmattan, are interrupted by the northern shift in the ITCZ and resultant southerly, rain-bearing winds during the summer.

Already, low-lying areas in Accra and the Central Region have witnessed devastating flooding following heavy rains carried by strong winds on Monday night, displacing many residents and destroying properties.

Read: Photos: The morning after heavy late night rains devastate Accra residents

The Greater Accra and Central regions are geographically situated near the sea where most water bodies exit their estuaries.

Accra alone received at least 40 millimetres (mm) of rains Monday night while the figures for Central Region ranged between 23 and 43mm, causing water levels to rise above the knee level after the downpour.

“The volume is very, very high,” Dr. Nyarkotey Quao observed and attributed the cause mainly to behavioural attitudes of residents.

Other parts of the capital city particularly in the east, also experienced some flooding but the hilly and undulating nature makes the water recede faster into drains and exit, the Meteorologist explained.

While he forecasts more rains, Dr. Nyarkotey Quao also predicts more flooding if people do not change their poor attitudes to the environment.

“So many gutters are choked…we have all these problems surrounding the coastal belt so definitely we are going to experience some of these things if we don’t put our house in order,” he advised.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | JTM