Heat and dust in Uganda as Europe shivers

As Europe suffers ice, snow and freezing temperatures, Uganda has been hit by unusually dry heat and dust, and they are both thanks to weather coming from Siberia's freezing wastes.

Wikimedia Commons

Britain's World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill is credited with naming Uganda “The Pearl of Africa” during the colonial era. But if he was resurrected and took a walk down town Kampala, he would rescind his decision due to the heat, wind and dust the country is suffering today.

Temperatures between January and February reached 30°C. The last time the country experienced such dry weather was in 2005 when Kitgum district registered a high of 40°C and Kabaale, usually called the “Switzerland of Uganda”, recorded a high of 30°C .

“It’s been very hot in Kampala, it’s just been unbelievable, and I found myself inhaling heat on more than one occasion," says radio presenter Allan Kasujia. "The dust has been incredible, there has been an increase in the dust, we do need some rain to come in so that Kampala goes back to what it usually is, a nice breezy town. This heat is not productive whatsoever."

The meteorology department has explained that this kind of weather is a result of dry winds blowing to Uganda from the Arabian Desert. The winds travel through Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan. By the time the winds reach the country they have already lost moisture and are very dry.

Spokesperson Margaret Nankya is blaming the Siberian high responsible for the current extreme cold weather in Europe for the dry weather.

“Europe is very cold and this because of the Siberian high," she says. "The air that coming from this Siberian high is cold so it’s lowering temperatures over large area. So the Siberian high is blowing cold air over much of Europe but it’s also spreading out into the Arabian Desert. By the time this cold air from Siberia reaches Arabia, it’s already warm and so the Arabian high then pumps out that hot air. That’s why it’s also extremely dry and hot here as well.”

But some people believe the current situation is a result of climate change that has been fanned by tree-felling in some parts of the country.

The meteorology department says Uganda is not receiving rain because the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone [ITCZ] responsible for cloud formation and rains is currently in southern Africa.

This explains why there is rain in cities like Durban and countries like Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar and parts of southern Tanzania.

“When the ITCZ moves northwards we shall have clouds and eventually get the rains," Nankya says.The good news is the first rains are expected in March.

The heatwave is affecting people's health and environment:
 

• Health: This kind of weather brings illnesses like coughs and flu. Some areas in northern Uganda have been put on a high alert for meningitis. “I know many people especially the children are suffering from respiratory diseases, this is not necessarily caused by germs only but it can also be a result of the dust that we are getting from the desert because it is coming from a foreign land altogether,” Nankya explains.
• Haze: The air space is not clear and when you look at objects from a distance, they are hazy, which experts say is due to the dust.
• Water shortage: The dry spell has left some parts of  greater Kampala with a shortage of water. A woman from a Kampala suburb, who refuses to give her name, says running water has become erratic. “Unfortunately now we have a problem of water shortage, water only runs during the night,” she says.  “The weather is quite hot, and not very conducive to many of us, because you try to dig your land, and the hoe will jump off. You find that instead of drinking one or two litres of water a day you might end up taking four litres. Farmers are also crying foul as most of their crops have dried up.

The highlands and areas around the shores of Lake Victoria will be the first to receive the much awaited rains.