Dam levels drop

Ellanie Smit
While some parts of the country have received welcome rains in recent weeks, dam levels are still dropping.

Meanwhile, rain forecasts for the rest of the season remain unfavourable, indicating normal to below-normal rainfall for Namibia.

Namibia's average dam level stood at 34.2% this week, in comparison to the same time last year when the dams were 41% full.

According to the latest dam bulletin, the dams in central Namibia were on average 24.7% full on Monday, compared to 32.7% last season.

The Swakoppoort Dam is currently 18.9% full (2018: 37.7%); Von Bach is 47.9% full (2018: 51.6%); and the Omatako Dam is virtually empty at 0.7% (2018: 0.3%).

The small Friedenau Dam outside Windhoek is 29.7% full (2018: 26.1%). The polluted Goreangab Dam, which is not used for water supply, is 100.5% full (2018: 100.8%).

In the Gobabis area the Otjivero Main Dam is 4.3% full (2018: 10.8%); the Tilda Viljoen Dam is 4.2% full (2018: 35.1%); and the Daan Viljoen Dam is 5.8% full (2018: 24.9%).

In the South the Hardap Dam is only 28.9% full (2018: 47.7%), while the Naute Dam is 101.1% full (2018: 71.3%).

The level of the Oanob Dam near Rehoboth stands at 54.3% (2018: 67.2%) and the Dreihuk Dam is at 1.2% (2018: 9.1%).

The Bondels Dam in the south, the Omaruru Delta Dam in the Erongo Region and the Omatjene Dam in the Otjozondjupa Region are empty – the same as last year.

The Olushandja Dam in the Omusati Region is also empty; last season it was 22.2% full.

According to the latest river bulletin the level of the Zambezi River at Katima Mulilo measured 1.63 m on Tuesday morning, while the Okavango River at Rundu continues to rise slowly and stood at 5.15 m on Tuesday.





The level of the Orange River at Sendelingsdrift rose over the past weekend and now stands at 0.33 m. Water levels in the Lower Orange River remain very low and users should take the necessary precautions.



Satellite images indicate isolated light showers in the north-central and western parts of Namibia today.



According to a post on Weather Today Southern Africa, a low-pressure cell is pulling in moist air from Angola and Zambia, and thundershowers are expected in northern Namibia today.



Some people have been recording their rainfall figures for the past few years and have posted them on Facebook to demonstrate just how worrying the current situation is.



Selma Slabbert has recorded rainfall figures for January to March on their farm near Tsumeb since 2011. According to her they received 325 mm in 2011, 525 mm in 2012, 122 mm in 2013, 470 mm in 2014, 141.5 mm in 2015, 205.5 mm in 2016, 421.5 mm in 2017, and 328 mm in 2018.



In January and February this year, the farm received only 126 mm, she says.



Steve Coetzee records the rainfall at his house in Suiderhof, Windhoek. Since January this year he has measured only 49 mm. In 2018 he measured 54 mm; in 2017, 172 mm; in 2016, 136 mm; in 2015, 62 mm; and in 2014, 365 mm.



The January to May 2019 regional seasonal climate outlook indicates that the bulk of Angola, Zambia, south-eastern DRC, the southern half of Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, eastern Botswana, northern South Africa, Zimbabwe, south Madagascar and the western coastal areas of South Africa, Namibia and Angola will receive normal to below-normal rainfall.



ELLANIE SMIT

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-28

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Katima Mulilo: 19° | 37° Rundu: 17° | 33° Eenhana: 18° | 33° Oshakati: 20° | 31° Ruacana: 19° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 28° Omaruru: 18° | 31° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 16° | 19° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:54, High tide: 04:57, Low Tide: 22:58, High tide: 17:16 Swakopmund: 15° | 17° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:55, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:14 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 33km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:54, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:13 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 22° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 34° Aranos: 21° | 31° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 34° Oranjemund: 15° | 21° Luanda: 27° | 30° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 24° Mbabane: 15° | 23° Maseru: 12° | 28° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 29° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 23° Durban: 21° | 25° Johannesburg: 18° | 28° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 30° Harare: 15° | 31° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.96 | EUR to NAD 20.53 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 19.03 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.8 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.3 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 19.02 | USD to ZMW 24.97 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 73909.5 Up +0.41% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1516.02 Down -0.13% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12981.98 Up +0.34% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 28224.37 Down -2.87% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 212.07/OZ UP +0.97% | Copper US$ 3.98/lb DOWN -0.0008 | Zinc US$ 2 446.40/T DOWN -0.41% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 86.78/BBP UP +0.45% | Platinum US$ 898.23/OZ UP +0.37% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 37° Rundu: 17° | 33° Eenhana: 18° | 33° Oshakati: 20° | 31° Ruacana: 19° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 28° Omaruru: 18° | 31° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 16° | 19° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:54, High tide: 04:57, Low Tide: 22:58, High tide: 17:16 Swakopmund: 15° | 17° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:55, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:14 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 33km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:52, High tide: 04:54, Low Tide: 22:56, High tide: 17:13 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 22° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 34° Aranos: 21° | 31° Lüderitz: 15° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 34° Oranjemund: 15° | 21° Luanda: 27° | 30° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 24° Mbabane: 15° | 23° Maseru: 12° | 28° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 29° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 23° Durban: 21° | 25° Johannesburg: 18° | 28° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 30° Harare: 15° | 31° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.96 | EUR to NAD 20.53 | CNY to NAD 2.63 | USD to NAD 19.03 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.8 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.35 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.3 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 19.02 | USD to ZMW 24.97 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 73909.5 Up +0.41% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1516.02 Down -0.13% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12981.98 Up +0.34% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 28224.37 Down -2.87% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 212.07/OZ UP +0.97% | Copper US$ 3.98/lb DOWN -0.0008 | Zinc US$ 2 446.40/T DOWN -0.41% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 86.78/BBP UP +0.45% | Platinum US$ 898.23/OZ UP +0.37%