Colombia’s state meteorology agency IDEAM on Monday said it was expecting rains to alleviate the drought-ridden east of the country, but maintained a red alert, particularly for the Caribbean coast that has also suffered from prolonged drought.
“Particularly in the north of the country, especially [the state of] La Guajira, the north of the Caribbean coast, the north of [the states of] Magdalena, Atlantico, Sucre, and likewise in the east … we have maintained dry times,” Cristian Euscategui, IDEAM’s chief meteorlogist, told Caracol Radio.
Euscategui said that his agency was expecting rains to begin falling in Colombia’s central Andean region and the troubled eastern plains where more than 20,000 animals have reportedly died after five months of extreme drought.
MORE: 20K animals dead in east Colombia drought
“From Wednesday on we will have a higher probability of heavier rains over this eastern region, and towards the Andean region we expect the rains to begin presenting themselves in the second half of the month of April,” the meteorologist said.
The IDEAM expects rains in the north of the country to hold off until the end of this month.
In normal years, Colombia has two dry and two rainy seasons a year, all lasting approximately three months.
Sources
Ideam mantiene alertas por probabilidad de incendios en el país (Caracol Radio)