THE Nigeria Meteorological Agency has predicted that some states in the North would experience delayed rainfall this year.
Affected states include Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, and Taraba.
The forecast followed the release of the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) in Abuja on Tuesday, February 4.
The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, unveiled the SCP with the theme, “The Role of Early Warnings towards a Climate Resilient Aviation Industry for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development,” at a public event in the nation’s capital.
According to the report, Nigeria is expected to experience varied rainfall patterns in 2025, with early onset predicted in the southern states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Anambra, and parts of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi.
The rest of the country is anticipated to have a normal onset of rainfall.
The end of the rainy season is predicted to be early in states such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, FCT, Ekiti, and Ondo.
However, a delayed end to the season is expected in parts of Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Lagos, Kwara, Taraba, Oyo, Ogun, Cross River, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Anambra, and Enugu.
Keyamo emphasised that the SCP document wais a critical tool for informed decision-making, providing insights into expected weather and climate patterns, which could be used by various sectors such as agriculture, disaster risk management, health, marine operations, transport, and aviation to plan, mitigate risks, and harness opportunities.
In his welcome address, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, noted that the summary of the SCP document would be translated into Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Pidgin languages to ensure accessibility and inclusivity.
He also noted that a comprehensive report on the state of the climate in Nigeria for 2024 underscored the ministry’s and NiMet’s commitment to reaching the most remote communities.
The director general and chief executive officer of NiMet, Charles Anosike, a professor, said the SCP was a perishable document that required stakeholders to utilise the information, provide feedback, and evaluate its effectiveness.
He commended the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation and the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation Technology for their support towards the progress of NiMet and urged them to support the downscaling of the SCP to their constituencies and states for maximum impact.
The ICIR reports that delayed rainfall predicted in the North might worsen food crises in Nigeria.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance