JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African Weather Service said on Friday that it could "confidently predict" that an El Nino system, which often heralds drought in the region, would not form during the upcoming southern hemisphere summer.
The weather service also said in its monthly outlook that it saw above-normal rainfall for the south-western parts of the country from August to October, which could bring relief to drought-hit Cape Town and wheat growing areas.
Earlier this year, South African and global forecasters had predicted a return of the El Nino phenomenon that brought a devastating drought to southern Africa in 2015/16, but in recent months its prospects of reforming this year had faded.
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)
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