Temperature slightly above normal during the day; normal during the night in the first half of the season; and below normal during the night in the second half of the season. Minimum temperature may on some occasions reach 8 to10 degrees Celsius in conditions of light wind and clear sky.
Rainfall slightly below normal. Ditto for average wind speed.
Temporary wet and chilly conditions giving rise to a sensation of extreme cold with strong anticyclones causing fresh South Easterly trade winds to blow over the mascarenes in July and August.
Those are the forecasts for Mauritius and Rodrigues as indicated by the Mauritius Meteorological Services in its 2007 Winter Seasonal Outlook released last week. They are based on various meteorological conditions prevailing on global, regional and local scales, like El Nino and La Nina oscillations, pressure pattern, jet stream location and intensity, sea surface temperature, and the Indian monsoon; and on model forecasts from Global Long Range Forecast Centres.
Mauritian residing in Rodrigues, Amanoola Khayrattee (pen name Alfa King) is contributing writer and journalist to La Gazette Mag de l’océan indien and This Week News Mauritius.
Retired, former meteorological cadre, trade unionist and OSH consultant, Amanoola has written for in-house union and other journals, publications and magazines. He runs two blogs since 2007: “Alfa King Memories”, and “Le Journal d’Alfa King”. When he is not reading or writing, he is on a 10+ km daily hike in anticipation of his monthly trails.
Amanoola may be reached at [email protected].