–says Chief Hydrometeorological Officer

WITH some Guyanese still recovering from the effects of unprecedented flooding in May and June, Chief Hydrometeorological Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings, has warned that the upcoming rainy season, December-January, will not be favourable, as “unusually high” amounts of rain are projected.

This was said during a National Climate Outlook Forum and Flood Preparedness Session conducted by the Hydrometeorological Office and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), on Wednesday.

Dr. Cummings said the initiative is definitely a step in the right direction as Guyana prepares for another rainy season which promises unusually high amounts of rain.

The aim of the forum was to guide the weather service to present climate information to meet the needs of all stakeholders and to convey uncertainties associated with weather predictions for the impending rainy season.
Additionally, the CDC’s session focused on key activities to strengthen flood risk management and reporting, operational gaps and significant next-steps.

In addressing the meeting, the CDC’s Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, said that planning for the immediate and distant future of disaster risk management in Guyana is of paramount importance, especially because of the unprecedented flooding experienced recently.

“We must adopt a proactive approach both from the hydromet perspective and from the disaster response and preparedness perspective,” Lieutenant Colonel Craig said.

The Director General also pleaded for other relevant agencies to utilise the information formulated in the session to better inform their stakeholders of the climate expectations.

Dr. Cummings informed the participants that the specialist team worked and continues to work with climate resources to ensure that weather predictions are as accurate as possible, and that the information is disseminated in a timely manner.

A local climatology meteorologist, Tonya Mohabir, in explaining the difference between weather and climate said: “Climate is what you expect and weather is what you get.”
she said that climate and weather services are crucial for decision making and briefly explained the provisions and uses for each service.

Komalchand Dhiram, a specialist meteorologist, then executed a detailed climate outlook presentation which had data comparisons, visual aids and short and long-term predictions.

Dhiram’s segment engaged those in attendance with data of the recent May June floods, specifically the precipitation predictions and actualities; temperature comparisons as opposed to previous seasons, and how rainfall was monitored for that period.

The presentation also highlighted the probability of rainfall for December 2021 to February 2022. It indicated that above normal rainfall is in the forecast, when compared to previous years, and, as such, most of Guyana will be “wetter” during that period.

During the last rainy season, flooding across the country was so severe that President Dr. Irfaan Ali had to categorise it as a level two disaster.

According to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency’s (CDEMA) Regional Response Mechanism, a Level Two Event is one in which the national capacity to respond is not overwhelmed, but some external assistance is required.