SA annual average rainfall for 2015 drops
JOBURG – Average rainfall for 2015 drops to its lowest since 1945.
The South African Weather Service compiled a data-set of monthly average rainfall for 2015.
This research is done throughout the nine provinces and has been done since 1904.
The data revealed that the annual average rainfall for South Africa calculated over 112 years has been 608 mm, however in 2015, it was at its lowest on 403 mm, breaking the record of 437 mm in 1945.
The longest period of consecutive years where the annual total rainfall was below the average of 608 mm per annum, was six years starting in 1944. An annual average calculated for this six-year period is 544 mm.
The next longest period where the annual total rainfall was below the period average of 608 mm per annum, were two periods of four consecutive years each. The first period started in 1930 and the second period started in 2012.
The annual average rainfall per annum for the four years from 1930 to 1933 was 519 mm, for the four years from 2012 to 2015 was 544 mm for South Africa for the 12 months from January to December 2015 was the lowest annual total since 1904. The four-year period between 1930 and 1933 might still be the driest continuous period experienced in South Africa.
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