The Principal Meteorologist at the Ghana Meteorological Agency has denied threats of a looming drought situation in Ghana. Mr. Charles Kweku Yorke described a banner headline story of the Ghanaian Times Newspaper as alarmist. The paper in its Wednesday, 14th April, 2010 edition has a banner headline; “Warning: Drought ahead! Poor harvest predicted, Load shedding likely.” The paper attributed a looming drought situation in Ghana to Mr. Yorke, quoting him as saying, this year’s rainfall pattern would be comparable to that of 1987, the year the country experienced one of its worst rainfalls. But Mr Yorke said his comments were over-exaggerated, at least in the banner headline. He told Citi News, Ghana has not experienced any drought situation before and will not experience it this year. He explained for a country to be said to be experiencing drought, that country will have no rains continuously for 45 days in the rainy season. Even in 1983 when Ghana was said to have experienced a low rainfall pattern, the nation in technical terms was not in drought, he said. He stated however this year Ghana will experience a low rainfall pattern but rules out a drought situation. “There is not going to be any drought in Ghana. Even in 1983 where there was so much reduced total rainfall there was no drought.” “…There is going to be a long dry spell,” this year explaining “it rains today, hazy today for the next 10 or 12 days you will not have any rainfall. That is what we are going to experience this year,” he stated. “Drought is too strong a word to use,” he added. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com