Birzeit University Weather Station gauges rainfall rates

The rate of rainfall recorded at the Birzeit University Weather Station, during the period of the last low-pressure area that swept the country last week, was measured at 79 mm precipitation rate.

Dr. Hussein Al-Rimawi, one of the weather station’s supervisors, said that the rainfall measured since the start of the rainy season (1/9/2017 – 8/1/2018) has reached 234 mm.

Dr. Al-Rimawi noted that the average rainfall gauged at the Birzeit University Weather Station over a period of 15 wet seasons (2003 – 2018) measured 659 mm.

The year 2014 saw the lowest rainfall, while the 2011/2012 season saw the highest rainfall in Birzeit University’s surrounding area.

Dr. Al-Rimawi noted that the university’s water treatment plant collects the rainwater that falls on the faculty building rooftops during the rainy season. The plant then treats and recycles the water and uses it to water the university’s gardens.

The attached table shows the rainfall recorded at Birzeit University during the past rainy seasons and the percentage of each season’s rainfall of the total average.