Our seasonal forecasts

Our seasonal forecasts help Eastern Africa prepare for the season and mitigate the effects of climate extremes.

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June - September

Rainfall

Temperature

Length of dry spells
  • Longest dry-spell lengths after onset expected over western Kenya, eastern Uganda, southern Ethiopia, northern Sudan.
  • Much of the region is likely to experience first dry-spell length ranging from 4 to 8 days
Length of wet spells
  • Longer wet-spell lengths after seasonal onset are expected over parts of northwestern Ethiopia, while shorter wet-spell lengths are anticipated over northeastern Ethiopia and Sudan
Onset dates
  • The onset of rainfall shows a progression from south to north following the movement of the ITCZ.
Probability Onset
  • Enhanced probabilities of a late onset are indicated across much of the region. However, parts of southwestern, north-central Ethiopia, and parts of Sudan show likelihood of an early to near-normal onset
Temperature forecast
  • Significantly higher likelihood for above-normal temperatures are indicated across the vast majority of the Greater Horn of Africa region.
  • The highest probabilities of above-normal temperatures are concentrated over northern Sudan, most parts of South Sudan and Ethiopia
Rainfall forecast
  • Wettern than normal conditions indicated over parts of coastal Somalia and Kenya, northern Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and northern Somalia while near-normal conditions are expected over most of central Sudan.
  • Enhanced likelihood Below-normal rainfall across much of the northern GHA, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, parts of Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Uganda, and western Kenya.

Seasonal forecasts

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Showing 13 results
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • Areas in western parts expected to record onset in September with eastern and southern areas expected to record onset from October and early November respectively.
OND - 2024 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • Western equatorial parts of the region to continue receiving rainfall through September.
  • Onset expected in the north-eastern parts of the region in October, and move southwards reaching Tanzania in November.
OND - 2022 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates

Rains are expected to start late (compared to the 1981-2010 average onset) over Tanzania, Burundi, eastern Kenya, southern and central Somalia, and south-eastern Ethiopia. On the other hand, rains are expected to start earlier than …

OND - 2020 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • The onset of rainfall shows a progression from south to north following the movement of the ITCZ.
JJAS - 2026 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates

  • The onset of rainfall forecast shows a progression from south to north from May over the equatorial sector to August over the far north.
JJAS - 2024 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • Onset expected from second week of March over western and south-western Kenya and progress northwards.
MAM - 2023 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • Bi-Modal (areas that experience two seasons within the year) areas of Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi are expected to record onset from the second dekad of February.
  • Uganda and Kenya are expected to record onset …
MAM - 2022 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates
  • The season is expected to start 1-2 weeks early in northern Tanzania, northern Uganda, western and eastern Kenya, most of South Sudan, south-western Ethiopia, and southern Somalia.
  • On the other hand, a late onset is …
MAM - 2021 Read More
Onset dates
Onset dates

Regarding the beginning of the season, earlier than usual start of rains is expected across most of the region, especially over northern Tanzania, northern Uganda, western and north-eastern Kenya, south-western Ethiopia, and southern Somalia. A …

MAM - 2020 Read More