A quickly deteriorating food security outlook in Somalia triggered international humanitarian appeals in 2016. In this analysis we investigate the roles of climate change and El Niño in the observed very low precipitation using both climate models and observational data.
In Kenya, the distressing numbers associated with the ongoing drought continue to mount. As of February 2017, the drought has affected 23 of 47 counties. The cost of maize has risen by a third in the past year, while production of the staple crop has plunged.
The worst drought in decades gripped north and central Ethiopia in 2015, affecting nearly 10 million people. The resulting food scarcity meant more than eight million people in the parched country needed emergency food aid, according to the United Nations.