Drought trends in the Horn of Africa are now worse than the conditions experienced during the 2011 famine in which at least a quarter-million people lost their lives, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center said on Wednesday, reported Aljazeera.
The IGAD, a designated regional climate center by the World Meteorological Organization, said below-normal rainfall is expected in the upcoming rainy season.
The center said that this could be the sixth failed consecutive rainfall season in the region that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
“In parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda that have been most affected by the recent drought, this could be the 6th failed consecutive rainfall season,” it said.
According to the United Nations (UN), the drought has lasted almost three years, and tens of thousands of people are said to have died.
After five consecutive poor rainy seasons, the ongoing drought has already become the longest and most severe in Somalia’s recent history. Over 1 million people have been displaced in Somalia alone and over 11 million livestock have lost their lives.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said around 8.3 million people, more than half of Somalia’s population, will require humanitarian assistance this year.
According to IGAD, due to drastic climatic changes, several parts of Burundi, eastern Tanzania, Rwanda, and western South Sudan are also experiencing drier-than-normal weather conditions.
Workneh Gebeyehu, the head of IGAD, called on governments and partner organizations to act immediately before it gets too late.
Last month, the UN resident coordinator for Somalia warned excess deaths in the country will almost certainly surpass those of the famine declared in the country in 2011, when more than 260,000 people died of starvation.
It is estimated that near about 23 million people will likely be highly food insecure in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
