2023: Residents heave sigh of relief as Ilorin records first rain 

Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state has recorded its first rain of the year 2023 on Saturday Janaury 28, thus reducing the rising heat wave being experienced by residents in recent weeks.

The light shower started at about 11:30 p.m, preceeded with a cool breeze and lasted till around 2am of Sunday Janaury 29.

Almost all parts of Ilorin metropolis witnessed the rain, which came with a cooling effect on the harsh situation occasioned by dry weather.

A resident at Oke-foma  area of Ilorin  west local government who would not mention his name  said that it was a great relief as “we are already melting as humans’’.

“We now have a cool atmosphere and is well cherished. The heat has been too much,’’ he said.

Blueprint recalled that the Minister of Aviation, Dr Hadi Sirika, had revealed that the 2023 beginning of rainfall (onset) is predicted to be earlier than normal in most parts of the country.  

According to him, the prediction shows that the earliest onset will likely occur on or around the 2nd of March 2023 in the coastal zone of the south-south states of Bayelsa, Rivers , Akwa Ibom and environs. 

Sirika who spoke last week Tuesday in Abuja at the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) organised by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), said some parts of Katsina, Zamfara , Kano, Jigawa, Yobe in the North, Imo and Rivers in the south are likely to experience a delayed onset when compared to the long term averages in the areas.

The minister said the onset dates in parts of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos are likely to be near normal.

He said an early End of Season (EoS) is predicted over parts of the South (especially in Osun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and eastern parts of Ogun and Lagos) and parts of Yobe, Adamawa, Niger, Nasarawa and Kogi. 

“However, an extended rainfall season is predicted over parts of Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, western Ogun, and Lagos. The End of Season period is expected to range from the 26th of September till 25th of December,” he added.