January was driest month in a decade

February 02, 2010 05:33:02 PM

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January 2010 has been Fiji’s driest month in a decade, but the situation deemed inferior to the one in 1998 says the Fiji Meteorology Service.

“The country showed dry conditions everywhere and had record-high temperatures at some stations, however this was not worse than the drought in 1998,” Fiji Meteorology Service director Rajendra Prasad told FijiLive.

Prasad said the irregular rainfall recorded had provided some consolation, while more rain can be expected about the eastern parts of the country this week.

“All the wet and rainy weeks have been depressed by the warm and dry condition that is currently prevailing,” Prasad said.

“Monasavu is the only station in Fiji to get 99 percent of rainfall which is not bad compared to other stations who recorded 19 percent rainfall.”

Prasad said the moderate El-Nino will be around for another two to three months until the cyclone season finishes at the end of March.

“What the country needs now is a tropical depression, not a cyclone.”

Up to 10 cyclones are predicted to form in the Pacific region this year.

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