Climate
Rainfall is variable and mean annual rainfall amounts to between 700 mm and 800 mm in most parts of the lowlands. Most of it falls between October and April, but there is normally no month which has less than 12 mm. Unfortunatly river discharge statistics show that most of this water is lost to Lesotho in the form of run-off.
The deciding factors from an agricultural point are whether the rain comes in steady soaking showers at intervals suited to the growth of the staple crops or whether it comes in the form of short and heavy storms, running to waste and eroding the soil.
Serious droughts have affected the country recently, and there is a large number of perennial streams, though not as many as existed some year ago. In the lowlands the temperatures vary from a maximum of 90' or more in summer to a minimum that rarely drops below 20' in winter. In the highlands the range is much wider and temperatures below zero are common.
