This has been the most unusual October I've ever experienced in Nigeria. Generally we just have a couple tapering off rains in October, lasting maybe 15-30 minutes.
Well, this October we have had at least 6 major downpours, with various short sprinkles in between. Today's downpour lasted from 11:30 a.m. til 4:30 p.m. Tobi said he didn't have any math homework today because the rain was so loud on the tinroof that the teacher couldn't teach!
It was so dark inside my house at noon that I had to use my phone to see inside the freezer! (Of course, the electricity was off.)
As much as I like it that the vegetation is staying green for a longer period of time, these rains are really hurting our farmers who are right in the middle of harvesting a lot of their crops. I'm concerned that some food prices may go up in the near future, making life even more difficult. Many people already spend 80-90% of their income on food. Food prices have already been on the rise, and if they go higher, it will be hard for the vast majority of people here.
Interestingly enough, dry season produces an abundance of great vegetables. All of the dry season farming is done with irrigation.
I was thinking that this is the wettest October I have ever seen here, but sometimes I have a faulty memory. That was put to rest when I was chatting with someone who has lived in Nigeria for nearly 50 years. He said, "I've never seen anything like this in all my years here."
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3 comments:
We're in the middle of our wettest October on record as well. Our farmers are working 24 hours a day when it's dry enough to be in the fields. Normally, corn is coming out by now, but there are still several bean fields that haven't been touched yet... crazy. Josh and I were both commenting that we really miss fall days. We've had very little sun this October, and there have only been about three days suitable for being outside to do fall cleanup or anything else.
Melissa
Supposedly global warming is making the rains later but more intense, ditto for the dry periods. I hope not, we need to count on the seasons.
I'm enjoying reading your blog. I promise the rain was so loud, they couldn't hear me. :)
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