The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted delayed rainfall in some parts of the country, especially the north-central states of the country, in 2024.
The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, stated this while presenting NiMet’s 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) in Abuja on Tuesday.
The document also predicted normal onset over the northern states, while Borno, Abia, and Akwa Ibom states are predicted to have an early onset when compared to their long-term averages.
Meanwhile, an early end of the season is predicted for parts of Yobe, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ogun, and Lagos states.
However, a late cessation is predicted over the southern states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Ekiti, and parts of Edo, Delta, Ogun, Oyo, Kogi, Kwara, FCT, Niger, and Kaduna.
The annual rainfall amount is predicted to be below normal over parts of Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano, Kebbi, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Benue, Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River, Delta, and Bayelsa states when compared to their long-term normal.
However, other parts of the country are likely to observe normal to above-normal annual rainfall amounts.
Most parts of the country are expected to experience a shorter length of season; however, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom are likely to experience a longer length of season when compared with their mean, and a normal to shorter length of season will likely occur in other parts of the country.
Speaking on the 2024 SCP document, the minister said it also contains detailed predictions for temperature in the first five months of the year, predictions for the dry spell and little dry season, as well as predictions for malaria and meningitis.
