In 2015, South Africa experienced its driest year in over 100 years, with rainfall below the mean in each of the last four years.

This is according to the South African weather service, which compiled a dataset detailing the average rainfall over the past 112 years.

It found that 2015 was the driest year recorded with only 403mm rain falling on land. The last time South Africa even came close this was in 1945, when the country recorded 437mm of rain.

The annual average rainfall for South Africa, calculated over the full 112 years, is 608 mm.

South Africa’s driest years

Year Rainfall (mm) 2015 403 1945 437 1992 440 2003 446 1935 451 1919 451 1965 452 1926 468 1916 476 1927 488 1912 493 1982 496 1941 496

The longest period of consecutive years where the annual total rainfall was below the period average of 608mm per annum, was the 6 years starting in 1944.

If an annual average is calculated for this 6-year period, it is 544mm, the weather service said.

While the annual total rainfall for South Africa for the 12 months Jan – Dec 2015, was the lowest annual total since 1904, the weather service said that the 4-year period 1930 – 1933 might still be the driest continuous period experienced in South Africa.

Over those four years, the country saw an average of 519mm of rain.

South Africa is currently gripped by a drought due to climate conditions brought on by the El Nino, which has had a disastrous impact on the agricultural sector.

The drought represents a major threat to the stability of the country’s food supply, food price inflation and jobs in the agricultural sector.

The country has been forced to import more food than usual, at an inflated price, due to the rand weakness.

Economist Dawie Roodt listed the drought as one of the big five contributors to South Africa’s current economic crisis.

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