The rainfall being experienced in some parts of the country currently is not an indication that the major rainy season has begun.
“On the contrary, we are still in the dry season, which may become more severe at certain times than others, as a result of climatic factors,” Torgbui Gbegbie Fiamekor I, Senior Forecaster and Deputy Officer in charge at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Kotoka International Airport, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.
He said whilst the harmattan season was gradually coming to an end, the major rainy season had not yet started, adding that the features that had to be present to sustain rain in a manner that indicated that it was the rainy season were not yet established.
"We expect the harmattan to gradually fade off between the end of February and the very early part of March," he said.
Torgbui Gbegbie Fiamekor said the dust was expected to settle along the coast but the northern sector would experience hazes of dust till the first or second week of March.
Explaining the present weather conditions in the country he said when the high pressure over North Africa intensified, the harmattan also intensified.
He said at the same time, a lot of moisture was coming in from the sea, adding that the moisture coming in combined with a more intensified harmattan created more dryness.
Torgbui Gbegbie Fiamekor said the weather all over the country, especially the coastal areas, looked as though the harmattan season was over, but it was still very strong over the northern sector, and especially the middle belt.
Explaining the heat that was being experienced in many parts of the country, he said when the dust caused by the harmattan conditions settled, the atmosphere got clearer, and once the dust which absorbed heat in the atmosphere had settled, the heat naturally intensified within the atmosphere as a result.
Touching on other reasons for the heat, the senior forecaster said with more moisture coming into the atmosphere, more heat would be generated because moisture also retained heat.
He said with the sun moving towards the equator, the intensity of heat it generated also increased.
"Whilst moisture inflow retains heat, the absence of dust particles allows the moisture to go to the ground, causing more heat in the atmosphere as a result," he said.
Touching on the recent rainfalls, Torgbui Gbegbie Fiamekor said rainfall in the country typically began from the south towards the north, noting that last week, however, the country had more rain over the inland areas, leaving the coastal areas.
He said the rainfall covered the inland areas, extending to the north and covering several places there, with some experiencing heavy rains and others lighter rains. He said this was the effect of the intensification of the harmattan.
"When dry air is coming in, it is heavier than moist air," Torgbui Fiamekor said.
Torgbui Gbegbie Fiamekor said last week the haze or dry air that characterized the harmattan season thinned out, while at the same time, there was a significant penetration of moisture into the atmosphere, all the way up to Burkina Faso.
He said when the dry air came in once more it thus lifted the moist air up over the middle sector to the southern half of northern Ghana, resulting in heavy rains in some areas such as Asamankese which had rain last Monday as well as Wednesday.
He said whilst this was quite an unusual trend, it was the kind of weather condition being experienced now.