Tanzania rains to affect Lake Malawi levels

As the 2023-24 rainy season comes to an end, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has said Lake Malawi may continue swelling because about 50 percent of its catchment is  in Tanzania.

The East African country, like others in the region, is experiencing heavy rains.

The department’s director Lucy Mtilatila told The Nation yesterday that the lake is at its peak levels, as such may continue swelling.

She said that some districts in the Northern Region including Chitipa and Karonga might continue receiving rainfall.

Mtilatila has since dispelled fears that Malawi might be affected by the recent Cyclone Hadaya that threatened Tanzania, saying it had weakened with only ruminants being felt in other countries.

She said: “if it were causing any threat to Malawi, we would have informed Malawians.

“It was far from Malawi and has weakened significantly, but has left some remnants.”

Mtilatila added that, climatologically, the rainy season in Malawi came to an end last month, but some seasons are prolonged as evidenced this year.

Despite most districts being affected by El Nino induced drought, the lake levels have been rising, submerging houses and accommodation structures along its shores.

On April 9 this year, the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) said the lake levels were at 475.95 metres above sea level (masl) as of March 2024 as compared to 475.12 masl the same date last year.

In its statement, the authority indicated that it represented an 83 centimetres increase.

The authority said the lake water levels reach the peak between the months of April and May and that on April 23 last year the peak was at 475.93 masl.

The statement read in part: “In this hydrological year the lake levels have taken the highest trajectory since 2010.

“The increase has been attributed to increased rains in the Northern Region of Malawi and the Tanzanian side which constitute the main catchment of Lake Malawi.”

At the time, NWRA was releasing 600 masl of water at Kamuzu Barrage in Liwonde, Machinga District which it says is more than the requirement downstream as a way of reducing the flooding upstream.