Kenya Met: Why El Niño Is Not Defined by Heavy Rainfall

The Kenya Meteorological Services Authority (KMSA) explained on the facts around El Niño and what Kenyans should expect.

President Ruto recently questioned the accuracy of the El Niño forecast given earlier warnings.

The Kenya Meteorological Services Authority (KMSA) has come out to clarify that El Niño does not automatically bring heavy rainfall, as questions continue over when the long-awaited rains will arrive.

In its explainer published on its channels, the authority set out to correct what it described as a common assumption that El Niño simply means more rain in Kenya.

At first, KMSA charged itself with explaining the phenomenon.

"El Niño refers to unusually warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean," it said.

In other words, El Niño describes the state of the ocean thousands of kilometres away. It is not a measure of the rain that falls in Kenya.

The authority further addressed the belief that a stronger event means heavier rain locally.

Source: Nairobi Leo