Areas in dark brown were well below the average rainfall for the time of year, with many areas more than 50 percent below normal. The map at the top of the page-based on the Climate Hazards Center InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset-shows how rainfall in March, April, and May 2022 compared to the long-term average accumulation. At the same time, the region has endured extremely warm air temperatures that desiccate soils and evaporate already diminished water supplies. Then the 2022 MAM season brought the lowest rainfall on record for much of the region. The 20 OND rainfall was substantially below normal, and the 2021 MAM season was also drier than normal. Tropical countries within the Horn of Africa tend to have two rainy seasons: the October, November, and December (OND) “short rains” and the March, April, and May (MAM) “long rains” (which sometimes extend to August in some areas). An estimated 18–21 million people now “face high levels of acute food insecurity” in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, the working group noted. At the same time, regional conflicts, COVID-19, locusts, and the Ukraine War have caused price spikes and shortages of basic commodities. Yields of key crops are down for the third year in a row, milk production is in decline, and more than 9 million livestock animals have died or been culled due to a lack of water and suitable forage land. With forecasts suggesting the next rainy season will also be inadequate, climate and agriculture experts are advising governments and relief agencies to expect a significant need for food assistance.Īccording to a July 29 report from the international Food Security and Nutrition Working Group, the worst drought in 70 years has left more than 16 million people across the Horn of Africa coping with a shortage of drinking water. Scientists and aid agencies are now alerting the world to an unprecedented level of food insecurity in 2022 for Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. That has not happened in 40 years of satellite records. The rains have failed in Eastern Africa for four consecutive seasons.

Fews net ethiopia