Report received 14 April 2000 16:00 GMT
There were substantial rains in the new fire area during the night from Wednesday
to Thursday. All fires are suppressed, including smouldering stumps and stems. The fire
fighters were released to their homestead. Zonal experts of the Department for Agriculture
continue to monitor the situation.
Ethiopia Current Fire Weather Situation and Forecast
Fire Weather Forecast for the Southern Region:
If there is not a lot of rain as per region, the fire index will start to rise rapidly
over the next couple of days. The only areas that will have a lower fire index will be the
areas that received 12mm or more over the last 3 days. Areas with no rain will go much
higher than stated in the forecast.
There is not much change in the outlook (see forecasts of the last days). Thundershowers are less in the Rift Valley areas but one or two is moving across. It remain hot and mainly humid. At least a few thundershowers are occuring in the afternoon and evenings. The I.T.C.Z is slowly moving northwards and conditions are not that bad.
Tab.1. Addis Ababa area forecast for 14:00 Monday 18 April 2000. Fire Danger Index (FDI) legend
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Addis Abba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Mon 17 | 32 | 45 | SSW | 15 | 1007 | 63 Orange |  |
| Tue 18 | 31 | 39 | S | 15 | 1006 | 63 Orange | |
| Wed 19 | 30 | 41 | SSE | 13 | 1007 | 59 Yellow |  |
| Thu 20 | 28 | 51 | SSW | 16 | 1009 | 55 Yellow | |
| Fri 21 | 30 | 45 | SSW | 15 | 1007 | 60 Orange |  |
| Sat 22 | 31 | 42 | S | 14 | 1006 | 61 Orange | |
Tab.2. Goba area forecast for 14:00 Monday 18 April 2000. Fire Danger Index (FDI) legend
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Goba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Mon 17 | 26 | 42 | SE | 15 | 1009 | 56 Yellow | |
| Tue 18 | 27 | 41 | SE | 17 | 1008 | 59 Yellow | |
| Wed 19 | 25 | 38 | SE | 16 | 1007 | 57 Yellow | |
| Thu 20 | 24 | 48 | SW | 13 | 1009 | 50 Yellow | |
| Fri 21 | 25 | 45 | S | 15 | 1007 | 54 Yellow | |
| Sat 22 | 26 | 42 | S | 15 | 1006 | 56 Yellow | |
Source of forecast tables: Net Forecasting (South Africa) on the base of data from the ECMWF (European Center For Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and the U.K.M.O. (United Kingdom Meteorological Office).
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Fig.1. and 2. Fire weather forecast maps
for Ethiopia, 17 and 18 April 2000.
Map legend
(Source: Net Forecasting)
Also available is a three-month rain forecast (starting 26 February 2000). The implications of this forecast are discussed by Net Forecasting.
An Eastern Africa and the Horn Satellite Imagery (NDVI) and rainfall analysis is provided by the USAID Famine Early Warning System.
For further information (history of the current fire situation in Ethiopia, starting in February 2000) please refer also to the earlier reports this and last week at the "Current Significant Fire Events" page. Some visual impressions from the ongoing fires in Ethiopia and several photographs taken from the Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s with general impression of land cover and fires are also available.