The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) last week warned that catastrophic consequences of the multi-year drought will continue in 2023 in the Horn of Africa region, leaving communities in urgent need of assistance…reports Asian Lite News
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned of the impact of the drought in the Horn of Africa region.
“Following a historic fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa, more than 36 million people have been affected by the drought in the region, of which more than two million people have been forced to leave their homes in search of life-saving assistance,” the IOM said in its latest East and Horn of Africa Drought Response Situation Report.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) last week warned that catastrophic consequences of the multi-year drought will continue in 2023 in the Horn of Africa region, leaving communities in urgent need of assistance.
According to a new seasonal forecast, below-normal rainfall is expected in most parts of the region over the next three months, the WMO said in a statement issued last Wednesday.
“Should this happen, it would be an unprecedented sixth poor season for the worst hit countries — Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.”
The WMO said the current drought began with the poor performance of the October-December 2020 rains and has since deepened with all four subsequent seasons also performing poorly. A persistent La Nina event has had a key influence.
This photo taken on Jan. 16, 2023 shows a flooded area in Byron, Contra Costa County, California, the United States. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua/IANS)
Three month ago, the data showed that all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels….reports Asian Lite News
The recent rain and snow from a series of winter storms topped annual precipitation averages across the US West, especially over the Sierra and coastal ranges and Rocky Mountains, resulting in freeing half of California from drought.
According to the latest data released by US Drought Monitor (USDM) on Thursday, moderate or severe drought still covered about 49 per cent of the Golden State, while nearly 17 per cent of the state was free of drought or a condition described as abnormally dry. The remainder is still abnormally dry.
It said central California’s Sierra Nevada mountains and foothills were free of drought and abnormal dryness for the first time since January 2020.
The central coast from Monterey Bay to Los Angeles County was also drought-free, along with two counties on the far north coast.
Three month ago, the data showed that all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels.
“The rain has improved California soil moisture and streamflow levels, while the snow has increased mountain snowpack to much above-normal levels. Most California reservoirs have refilled with water levels near or above average, but groundwater levels remain low and may take months to recover,” the summary of the USDM’s weekly report read.
California Water Watch issued by the state’s Department of Water Resources found that as of Thursday major reservoir levels were at 96 per cent of average lever and statewide snowpack, which provides about a third of the state’s water resource, was about 170 per cent of the historical average level.
This comes after a record-setting hot and dry summer last year, which left water stores low heading into the colder months…reports Asian Lite News
Large swathes of Europe are currently in the midst of an unprecedented winter drought, which could impact agriculture and human consumption, and lead to problems in the warmer months.
According to the European Union’s (EU) Drought Observatory, northern Italy, south-central France, eastern Spain, and parts of Greece, Germany, Austria, and Croatia all have a rainfall deficit this winter, reports Xinhua news agency.
This comes after a record-setting hot and dry summer last year, which left water stores low heading into the colder months.
The back-to-back droughts have impacted fishing and irrigation and limited winter sports.
As of Thursday, most of France has gone more than a month without significant rainfall, according to Meteo France. This breaks the record set in the spring of 2020.
Moreover, with one week to go before the official end of winter, the total number of winter days without rain is the highest since record-keeping began in 1959.
Italy has seen some snow and rainfall this year, but the accumulated rainfall — especially in the northern parts of the country — has been so low that the ANBI Water Resource Consortium said Thursday that as many as 3.5 million Italians could be at risk of having to ration drinking water.
The organisation said that as much as 15 percent of Italy’s population lives in areas which are impacted by extreme drought conditions.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to curb water use, Spanish officials have established rules limiting car-washing and filling of swimming pools.
The low rainfall has resulted in a weak crop of acorns, making it more difficult for pig farmers to feed their animals.
Across central Europe, the low levels of precipitation have also resulted in lower snowfall, which has damaged tourism. It will also result in lower levels for glacier-fed rivers and lakes in the spring.
The low rainfall in Europe has exacerbated the problems caused by the droughts and heatwaves that lashed the continent in 2022.
In addition, the year-old war between Russia and Ukraine has further complicated the situation, leading to skyrocketing energy costs combined with increased demand due to the cold and dry conditions.
Coldiretti, the main Italian agricultural sector union, said that as much as a quarter of agricultural production in areas impacted by the dry weather could be lost this winter.
The weather could change in the coming days, according to media reports.
Starting early next week, a weather formation originating in Russia is expected to cause a drop in temperatures in central and northern Italy, and into the Alps and southern France.
However, despite the lower temperatures, the change in weather is not expected to bring a significant increase in rainfall.
It added that the region has recorded a significant increase in the price of local food baskets with Somalia recording the most expensive food basket in the region…reports Asian Lite News
The impact of drought in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia has led to food insecurity and a high level of acute malnutrition, the UN WFP has warned.
The WFP, in its latest drought response situation report released on Tuesday, said nearly 22 million people are food insecure due to drought across the affected countries.
It further warned that the loss of livestock and reduced productivity has eroded the livelihoods of the affected pastoral communities.
In 2022 alone, at least 9.2 million livestock deaths occurred in the drought-effected areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, according to figures from the WFP.
The WFP, citing the latest IPC Famine Review Committee projections, further warned that famine is likely to occur in three areas in the Bay region in Somalia between October to December.
It added that the drought condition is further deteriorating the already dire humanitarian condition across the region.
“The food insecurity situation in Eastern Africa continues to deteriorate owing to extreme weather conditions, conflict, and macroeconomic challenges (inflation, currency devaluation),” the WFP said.
It added that the region has recorded a significant increase in the price of local food baskets with Somalia recording the most expensive food basket in the region.
Amid the worsening impacts of the ongoing drought, the WFP said it has scaled up response across the Horn of Africa to respond to severe food shortage by providing lifesaving food and nutrition assistance to affected communities.
In Somalia, WFP has more than doubled its life-saving food assistance from 1.7 million people in April 2022 with plans to reach 4.5 million in the coming months, it said.
The WFP is also enabling communities to recover faster and better from the drought by investing in interventions that promote resilience and adaptive capacities of communities to deal with shocks.
It, however, noted that forecasts indicate a potential increase in needs, in which additional funding is needed to sustain and scale up assistance to prevent more dire outcomes.
The WFP said it urgently needs $1.27 billion for all its operations in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia for the period from November 2022 to April 2023.
She said that the situation has been aggravated by depressed rains in the arid and semi-arid areas of the country during the October-December 2021 and March-May 2022 rainy seasons…reports Asian Lite News
Due to an acute drought that has affected vast swathes of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, at least 1,235 wild animals have died between February to October this year, a government official said.
In a statement, Peninah Malonza, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, said the prolonged dry spell has affected 14 different species of wildlife.
“The mortalities have arisen because of depletion of food resources as well as water shortages,” Malonza said.
She said that the situation has been aggravated by depressed rains in the arid and semi-arid areas of the country during the October-December 2021 and March-May 2022 rainy seasons.
Malonza added that the biting drought that has caused the mortality of mostly herbivore species is being experienced in southern, eastern and northern Kenya.
She said the government has been providing hay to affected species such as Grevy’s zebra and hippo, water trucking for wildlife in protected areas, enhanced surveillance of wildlife outside protected areas to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, and mobilizing resources for mitigating the impacts of the drought.
Malonza urged wildlife partners to supplement the provision of water as well as salt licks to wildlife in the most affected ecosystems, expand hay provision to Gravy’s zebra in northern Kenya and support an urgent undertaking of a total aerial census of wildlife.
According to an official report released on Friday, the drought has resulted in the deaths of 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 205 elephants, 49 Grevy’s zebras, 51 buffalos, 12 giraffes, eight hippopotamuses, six elands, six Kongoni, two grant Gazelles, one ostrich, one rhino and one waterbuck.
Elephants in Amboseli and Laikipia and Samburu counties in northern Kenya, the report says, are worst affected by the drought as the ecosystems have recorded more than 70 elephant deaths.
The Amboseli ecosystem in south-eastern Kenya has lost 510 wildebeests, 358 common zebras, 76 elephants, and 19 buffalos during the current drought season, said the report.
It notes that the rhino population has not been seriously affected by the drought with only one rhino aged about two years has died.
children at a school in Mathare slums area, Nairobi, Kenya, April 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)
The institution noted that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Kenya currently stands at 4.35 million, a rise from 4.1 million in June…reports Asian Lite News
Nearly 942,000 Kenyan children aged under five years as well as pregnant and lactating mothers are acutely malnourished as drought ravages the country, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said.
NDMA added on Friday in its assessment that some cases of acutely malnourished children have been reported in 23 affected arid and semi-arid areas. The number has risen from 884,000 cases in September.
“Over 134,000 cases of pregnant or lactating women acutely malnourished in need of treatment have also been reported,” said the national disaster authority.
The institution noted that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Kenya currently stands at 4.35 million, a rise from 4.1 million in June.
NDMA added that due to diminished pasture and water resources in most of the arid counties, mortalities across all livestock species namely camels, cattle, goats and sheep have increased.
It said high livestock mortalities have been reported in Samburu, Mandera, Isiolo, Lamu, Marsabit and Garissa counties.
Millions of people across the Horn of Africa are facing starvation and death due to drought, with Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia being the worst affected.
In Ethiopia, the cost of the local food basket increased by more than 33 per cent between January and June 2022, according to WFP…reports Asian Lite News
At least 36.1 million people in the Horn of Africa, including 24.1 million in Ethiopia, 7.8 million in Somalia, and 4.2 million in Kenya, will be affected by severe drought in October, the United Nations has warned.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the figure represents a significant increase from July when an estimated 19.4 million people were affected by drought.
OCHA said aid agencies are already in a race against time and are working around the clock to respond to this rapidly deepening emergency.
“Urgent additional funding is required to scale up and sustain the response,” OCHA said in its latest humanitarian update on drought released on Wednesday evening.
It said communities in the Horn of Africa are facing the immediate threat of starvation, with forecasts indicating that the October-December rainy season is likely to underperform, marking the fifth consecutive failed season in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
According to OCHA, two districts in Somalia are at imminent risk of famine, and at least 21 million people are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity due to drought in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia between October and December.
“The 2020-2022 drought has now surpassed the horrific droughts in 2010-2011 and 2016-2017 in both duration and severity and will continue to deepen in the months ahead, with catastrophic consequences,” OCHA said.
It said food prices are spiking in many drought-affected areas, due to a combination of macroeconomic challenges, below-average harvests, and rising prices for food and fuel on international markets, including as a result of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
In Somalia, staple food prices in drought-hit areas have surpassed the levels recorded during the 2017 drought and the 2011 famine, according to World Food Program (WFP)’s price monitoring.
In Ethiopia, the cost of the local food basket increased by more than 33 per cent between January and June 2022, according to WFP.
Soaring prices are leaving families unable to afford even basic items and forcing them to sell their hard-earned properties and assets in exchange for food and other life-saving items.
There are also repercussions for food for refugee programs, which are already impacted by reduced rations due to a lack of funding support.
For the ongoing financial year, the government has set an export target of $23.56 billion for the agricultural and processed food products basket…reports Asian Lite News
Will the intense heatwave and droughts in Europe affect its food security at a time when it is already struggling with acute energy shortage? The continent that has been largely food secured, is currently staring at a brewing crisis as rivers in several parts of the continent are drying up due to the excessive heatwave, damaging crops and aquatic life. Sources said that while the deepening economic crisis in Europe is a matter of “grave concern” India’s exports of food items into the continent could increase.
Though the European market is mostly highly regulated with stringent standards set particularly on food items, it could resort to India even as New Delhi has come under the spotlight for imposing sudden export bans on grains and other agro-products due to rising domestic prices.
“This is an opportunity for India to position itself as the world’s food provider and the authorities must rise to the challenge. Food export policy must be carved out carefully avoiding knee jerk reactions from time to time,” an analyst with a research firm told India Narrative.
According to official data, exports of agricultural and processed food products in April-June period of the current financial year jumped by 14 per cent against the corresponding period in the previous year.
For the ongoing financial year, the government has set an export target of $23.56 billion for the agricultural and processed food products basket.
Meanwhile, India’s seafood exports for the same period this year have also risen by 15 per cent compared to the corresponding period, touching $1.99 billion. In 2021-22 too, the total exports of seafood rose by 30 per cent to touch $7.76 billion.
India’s agricultural products exports during 2020-21 rise by almost 20 per cent at 19.92 touching $50.21 billion.
The Russia-Ukraine war and the climatic changes have pushed up global food prices. The United Nations has already warned that an estimated 1.6 billion people in 94 countries are now exposed to either the food, energy or finance crises following the war.
Besides food items, exports of low value goods from India to Europe are likely to rise too. Until now, most of the low value items which also include fast moving consumer goods such as soaps and shampoos were being sourced into Europe from China.
“The economic crisis in Europe will somewhat affect India but at the same time, our exporters may see a surge in demand for products, which are of a different kind, especially at supply strains have hit the world with China’s zero Covid policy” Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The drought has substantially reduced yields for summer crop harvests, with corn, soybeans and sunflowers most affected, the researchers said…reports Asian Lite News
Nearly half of Europe is at risk of drought, according to a report by the European Commission’s science and knowledge service (JRC).
The report, published on Monday, said that, as of August 10, 47 per cent of Europe’s territory has reached a warning level for drought while 17 per cent of the surveyed regions were on full alert.
Researchers said dry conditions are related to scarce rain and a number of heatwaves from May onwards that have affected river discharges widely across Europe. Reduced water volumes have also adversely affected the energy sector for both hydropower generation and cooling systems of other power plants.
The drought has substantially reduced yields for summer crop harvests, with corn, soybeans and sunflowers most affected, the researchers said.
“Soil moisture and vegetation stress are both severely affected,” the JRC report said, listing over a dozen countries where drought hazard has been increasing, including Germany, France and the UK.
“The rest of Europe, already affected by drought, maintains stable severely dry conditions,” the report added.
It said regions where conditions are worsening the most are those that were already affected by drought in spring 2022, for example northern Italy, south-eastern France, and some areas in Hungary and Romania.
Researchers are forecasting that conditions warmer and drier than normal are likely until November in the western Euro-Mediterranean region.
“Recent precipitation (mid-August) may have alleviated drought conditions in some regions of Europe,” the experts said.
“However, in some areas, associated thunderstorms caused damages, losses, and may have limited the beneficial effects of precipitation.”
The deteriorating food situation is attributed to the fourth consecutive failed rainy season alongside the impact of the Ukraine crisis, desert locust infestation, and pandemic, NDMA said in a statement…reports Asian Lite News
The number of food insecure Kenyans is expected to reach 4.35 million by October, up from the current 4.1 million, as drought worsens in many parts of the country, a state agency said.
According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), 23 counties mainly in the arid and semi-arid regions are grappling with a severe dry spell that has worsened water stress, hunger, and malnutrition.
The deteriorating food situation is attributed to the fourth consecutive failed rainy season alongside the impact of the Ukraine crisis, desert locust infestation, and COVID-19 pandemic, NDMA said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
Hared Hassan Adan, the Chief Executive Officer of NDMA, said that in August alone, 95 percent of arid and semi-arid lands will be severely dry, exposing herders and subsistence farmers to ravages of hunger and malnutrition.
Livestock mortalities have increased in a huge swathe of Kenya’s dry northern frontier region due to lack of pasture and water, said Hassan adding that the coastal strip has not been spared ravages of drought.
According to NDMA, 884,464 children aged six to 59 months are acutely malnourished while 115,725 pregnant or lactating mothers have also suffered from an acute form of malnutrition in the arid counties.
Declining milk production and a spike in the cost of cereals have also worsened the hunger crisis in the semi-arid region and the projected insufficient October-December short rains might not offer a respite.
To mitigate against the severe impacts of drought in the arid outposts, the government has embarked on livestock offtake, water tracking, provision of livestock feeds, supplementary diet to families, and cash transfer, said Hassan.
He added that the government with support from multilateral agencies and local charity groups has contributed an estimated $83.50 million to boost drought response in the affected counties.
Kenya is enduring its worst drought in 40 years, according to the government and UN. More than four million people are “food insecure,” and 3.3 million can’t get enough water to drink.
Across the Horn of Africa, that figure leaps to 11.6 million.
Ileret, on the northern shore of Lake Turkana, is famously parched. But the local nomadic pastoralists have managed to exist, even thrive, in harsh conditions for centuries. Their herds of goats and camels are periodically fattened by fresh pastures that emerge from the savannah when it, occasionally, rains.
For more than two years it just hasn’t. Local officials in the Ileret district told CNN that around 85% of livestock here has perished. Surviving herds are being driven south in search of grazing.
Either way, those left behind have close to nothing to live on.
Kenya has experienced bouts of lawlessness and land invasions before. But for many, even people used to seeing their own ethnic group violently take over grazing, or raid cattle, there’s been a shift for the worse in Kenya.
In the marginalized communities across the northern counties, urban-based politicians have paid lip service to the unfolding horrors. The government ended, and swiftly reinstated, subsidies on fuel in July. But as Kenya’s population is largely centered in the center and south of the country, northern insecurity hasn’t been a major election issue.
Past experience across Africa has shown that drought combined with overgrazing means when rains do fall, they wash away topsoil in vast quantities. Once that happens, there’s little left but desert, after just a few years.
“Any time you get people who are hungry and without other options you’ve got a security situation. (In) Northern Kenya we’re bordered by South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, all of which are still in the grip of conflict that spews small arms into this ecosystem, so you’ve got a lot of weapons up here and increasing hunger so, yeah, I’d say that’s an increasing security concern,” said Frank Pope, CEO of charity Save the Elephants, based in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve.
Pope’s organization also works with elephants in Mali, West Africa, much of which, he now warns, was savannah not long ago but now sustains only “elephant, goats, and insurgents.”
The combination of drought, soaring food and fuel prices due to a distant war, a burgeoning population, and civil wars on Kenya’s doorstep is an incendiary mix.
And that may be bad news for humanitarian operations in neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan which depend on Kenya’s ports, and relative calm, as a base of operations and essential location for logistics.
