The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned that some parts of the country will receive heavy rainfall in the next seven days with April being the peak of the “rainy season” in the country.
However, the weatherman has said the heavy rains will not necessary mean low temperatures that can contribute to the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Past research has found that most coronavirus transmissions across the globe occurred in regions with low temperatures, between 3 and 17 degrees Celsius.
Kenya Meteorological Services Deputy Director in charge of Climate Services, Dr David Gikungu, said there will be heavy rains in some parts of the country this month but it does not necessarily mean that temperatures will drop to the extreme.
“In April, the temperatures are not that low but will be lower compared to March and February because of the cloud cover as a result of rains. In a normal season, there will be a lot of rainfall in April but temperatures do not necessarily go very low,” he said.
According to the latest weather forecast, heavy rains of above 70 mm will be experienced in Narok, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Kitui, Tharaka, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Tana River, Garissa, Mombasa and Kwale Counties.
Nyamira, Bomet, Kisii, Kajiado, Nairobi, Machakos, Makueni, Meru, Kiambu, Embu and Kilifi Counties will experience moderate rains of between 20 and 70mm.
Low daily-mean temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius is expected over Central Kenya, central Rift Valley and some parts of Western Counties while parts of Nyeri, Meru, Nyandarua and Nakuru will experience low temperatures of below 8 degrees Celsius.
Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Kajiado have been declared coronavirus hotspots in Kenya.
He, nonetheless, warned that the temperatures will fall in May, June and July, with the humidity experienced creating a good breeding ground for viruses causing colds, flus and other related respiratory illnesses.
Dr Gikungu explained that consistently, viruses do well when it is very cold and that is where the link comes in patterns of the common cold and Covid-19.
“When the coronavirus broke out people were saying it cannot survive in Africa because of the climatic conditions but now we know better. We have even seen people attacked with the virus having breathing difficulties even in hot places,” he stated.
