the southern african climate is affected by strong seasonal rainfall patterns; the majority of the region's annual rainfall is deposited by storms from early november to march, forming what is considered southern africa's wet season. the wet months of rainfall saturate the region's soil, providing moisture that persists for the drier months of the year. while this cycle is normally reliable, anomalies in the climate—such as el niño events—disrupt the region's annual level of rainfall; this in turn causes the decline of the region's plant life, the lowering of water levels in bodies of water and a loss of moisture from soil, with the latter effect causing a drought.