South Africa’s rainfall last year was the lowest since records began in 1904 as the El Nino weather pattern caused dry conditions across the region.
Precipitation was 403 millimeters (15.9 inches) in 2015, 34 percent below the 112-year average of 608 millimeters, the Pretoria-based South African Weather Service said in an e-mailed statement Thursday, updating data published yesterday. It was the fourth consecutive year of below-average rainfall, the longest streak since the 1940s.