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Namibia’s Recent Radical Rains
Namibia is largely an arid country with very unpredictable rainfall. We were excited to hear reports this week from a couple of our colleagues in Namibia that the country is currently experiencing outstanding rainfall.
Traditionally from January to April is considered the rainy season, however rains are sporadic and during that time, it is not uncommon to have weeks of heat and sunshine, then suddenly one week of intense rains, and then, just like that again, sunshine. Namibia is fortunate not to experience the grey, miserable drizzly weather like us in the UK – their rainy season is usually quite dramatic with thunder, lighting, strong showers and then, twenty minutes later, it's all over. Generally speaking Northern Namibia gets more rain.
The 2008 rainy season was actually much drier than this year and the rainy season was not as intense. 2007 experienced heavy rains where as in 2006 a minor drought was experienced. Richard and I visited Namibia in June 2007, after a good rainy season and we were amazed at grasses and little flowers everywhere.
Generally the days during the rainy season consist of sunny mornings with cloud build up, thunderstorms for an hour or so in the afternoon and then stunning sunsets as the sun peeps through the clouds again.
Namibia's landscape radically changes with rainfall; the colours become bold and striking with vibrant flowers everywhere, various shades of grass, trees are lush. Most of the time the desert scenery comprises sand and rocks only, yet for only a very short time, only when the rains have been really good, the desert transforms into paradise. This greenery rarely lasts long, only a couple of weeks at most, before everything turns yellow and brown again. Visiting Namibia at this time can be fantastic, particularly for photographers and a haven for birders as this time is actually the best time for birding.
Down in the NamibRand Nature Reserve at Wolwedans, where the surrounding desert usually sucks any available moisture away from the surface we have heard reports that the desert grasses have added bright green swathes to the landscape.
Andre Schoeman of Skeleton Coast Safaris wrote the following to me when I asked him about this year’s rains:
It is raining now as I'm writing - a soft penetrating rain and not the typical heavy storms. I think the rains here in Namibia is more than the yearly average, at least here on the Farm Mt Uisib near Etosha where I have a rain gauge and keep statistics.
It started with the "small rain season" 4 to 5 weeks during October November that was good. This "small rain season" over the "Kaisers birthday" was known during the old Colonial days but was a non-event the last 30 or so years. This season I measured 171 mm or 7 inches during the small rain season alone where the average for the last 12 years in my dairy barely was 1 inch (22 mm).
Etosha have already passed our seasonal average of 400 mm (16 inches) with the measurement on the farm standing at 610 mm (24 inches). We can still expect some rain for about 6 weeks until the full moon near the equinox when the rain season ends - yes the moon seems to play a role.
Flood water from Angola (Efunja) is now moving through Ovamboland and starting to fill up the Etosha pan, a repeat of last year. We have noticed very few flamingos at the coast compared to "normal" years, mainly because the pan did not completely dried up during the past dry season and many stayed. This year they will breed well again and generally the bird life at Etosha should be very good. It would be interesting to see if the pan fills up as much as in 1974 where it was apparently possible to go by motor boat from Namutoni to Okaukuejo!
It has already rained well in most parts of Kaokoland and Damaraland where it is now lush and green and most rivers are running. The desert elephant have left many of the "linear oases" (river beds penetrating the desert) to make use of water and grazing further afield normally not available.
The extreme west where the average seasonal rainfall is about 1/2 inch (15 mm) we now have also received the odd shower e.g. at Kuidas Camp down the Huab River where we week ago had 28 mm with the total so far 34 mm (1,6 inches). All the succulents, Welwichia Mirabilis, and grasses has started to make use of the opportunity to flower and flourish. I think by Easter the desert in our area is going to look the best it had been since 1994!