Low rainfall in Morocco during the winter due to adverse weather conditions

The low rainfall observed during this winter season in Morocco and southern Europe is attributed to unfavorable meteorological and climatic conditions, stated Lhoussaine Youabd, head of the DMN’s communication service, on Friday.

The meteorological situation was characterized during this winter period by the presence of the Azores anticyclone, an area of ​​high atmospheric pressure located in the North Atlantic Ocean and which extends over southern Europe, l western Mediterranean basin, and Morocco,” he said in a statement to MAP.

According to the official, this situation “has influenced the weather conditions of this season favoring stable, calm and dry conditions,” adding that the central position of the Azores anticyclone over the Near Atlantic and the Mediterranean basin “pushes most of the atmospheric disturbances, creating rain, toward the North and the British Isles as well as Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East.”

Additionally, the rainfall amounts recorded during the autumn and winter seasons are significantly lower than the 10-year average.

“We note that the average cumulative rainfall recorded at the national level from September 1, 2021, to January 31, 2022, is 38.8 mm, against a climatological normal of 106.8 mm calculated over the same period between 1981 and 2010, i.e. a deficit of 64%. The deficit compared to the previous season 2020-2021 is 53%,” noted Youabd.

During the period between September 2021 and January 2022, the Azores anticyclone oriented most disturbances over northern Europe, resulting in the absence of disturbances over the entire Mediterranean basin (except Egypt) and the Iberian Peninsula, which resulted in a rain deficit exceeding 50% over the entire region, according to the official.

The northern shore of the central and eastern Mediterranean, from Italy to Turkey, received normal to slightly above normal rainfall, he said.