Rural areas face severe risks during El Niño

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned that South Africa is likely to experience below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures this spring as a strong El Niño event develops in the Pacific Ocean. According to the weather service, the latest predictions indicate that El Niño is likely to intensify further and could become the strongest event in living memory. According to experts , the severe weather could threaten harvests, water supplies, household budgets, public health and electricity generation across Africa. For more Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Dr Henno Havenga, senior lecturer in climatology at the North-West University's (NWU's) School of Geo- and Spatial Sciences