The regional drought associated with the El Niño eased slightly in January, but re-strengthened through to mid-February. In January, rainfall improved in southern parts of the region including much of South Africa, Lesotho and southern Zimbabwe, but was still generally below normal in many areas (Figure 1a). Many central areas also received slightly below normal January rainfall including parts of Zimbabwe, southern and eastern Zambia, southern half of Malawi, southern and central Mozambique, and much of Botswana. Some areas received well below average rainfall during the month, including southern Madagascar, parts of southern Mozambique, parts of southern Zimbabwe, north-western Namibia, south-western Angola and northern DRC. In Tanzania and northern Mozambique, well-above normal rainfall was received, over twice the normal amount in many areas. This resulted in some areas experiencing flooding. Western South Africa, southern Namibia, southern DRC and some parts of Angola also received above-normal rainfall.
