Farmers in Nyeri have been advised to follow the recently released October weather forecast and refrain from rushing to plant their crops before conditions stabilize.
County Director for Meteorological Services John Muiruri says the ongoing downpour currently being experienced in the county and other parts of the country is temporary and therefore not ideal for planting.
He said farmers should therefore continue with land preparations until the third week when the October-November –December rains are expected to commence.
“Farmers are advised that, as earlier communicated, the short rains are not expected until the third or fourth week of this month. They should therefore exercise patience and avoid rushing to plant, as the current conditions cannot sustain seed germination. For us to declare the onset of a rainy season, there must be at least four consecutive days with rainfall measuring up to 20 millimetres,” he told KNA.
Last week the Kenya Meteorological Department announced that the much-awaited October-November-December rains would fall anywhere between the third and fourth week of this month.
The prediction which was based on models developed from evolution of global sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) with the La Niña phenomenon favoured developing rain between October and December with a 71 per cent probability.
The La Niña drive is often associated with below –average rainfall.
“The onset of the seasonal rains is projected to occur between the third and fourth week of November over Southern lowlands and Coastal regions, although occasional rainfall is expected in October particularly over the Coastal strip and isolated areas in the Southeastern lowlands. Over the central parts of the country including Nairobi, onset is expected between the third and fourth week of October,” read the report.
For the western part of the country, rainfall is expected to continue while the onset over the northern sector is remains uncertain.
Temperatures for the month of October are expected to be warmer than average across several parts of the country, apart from the western half, where near –to cooler-than –average conditions are expected.
The regions bordering the Highlands West of Rift Valley, the Lake Basin, the Central Rift Valley, the Northwest and most parts of the Highlands East of the Rift Valley are expected to receive near to above average rainfall.
“The outlook for October 2025 indicates that the Highlands west of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, the Central and South Rift Valley, the Northwest, most parts of the Highlands east of the Rift Valley (including Nairobi County), and isolated areas in Marsabit are likely to experience near to above –average rainfall. In contrast, most of the Southeastern lowlands, the southern coast, a few areas of the Highlands east of the Rift Valley, and isolated areas of the Northeast and much of the Coastal region are expected to receive near to below-average rainfall,” continued the update.
Nyeri, Murang’a, Embu, Meru, Nairobi, Kiambu, Tharaka Nithi and parts of Laikipia are among counties expected to receive rains near to above the long-term average for the month.
In terms of impact, the expected near to above average rainfall in the highlands west of the Rift Valley, Central and North Rift Valley will provide humidity sufficient to sustain agricultural production.
On the flip side, the rains will likely disrupt harvesting of crops that are still in the farms.
Residents living in regions where there will be sufficient rains during this season have been advised to take advantage of the downpour by planting trees and conducting environmental conservation measures.
“The expected rainfall over the highlands west of the Rift Valley, the Lake Basin, and the Central Rift Valley is likely to maintain conducive soil moisture for tree growth .The public should therefore take advantage of these favourable conditions to plant trees and adopt measures to conserve environment .This recommendation aligns directly with Kenya’s Mission 15B(JazaMiti)- a presidential campaign launched to plant 15 billion trees and restore degraded landscapes by 2032,”states the advisory.
The Jaza Miti initiative is a presidential directive in which Safaricom in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Forest alongside other State ministries came up with an ambitious nationwide drive to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.
By Samuel Maina
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