Climate change has made drought in East Africa 100 times more likely, study finds

The results clearly show the misery that the burning of fossil fuels, mainly by rich countries, inflicts on societies that emit next to nothing by comparison.

Two and a half years of meager rains have shriveled crops, killed livestock and brought the Horn of Africa, one of the world's poorest regions, on the verge of starvation. Millions of people faced food and water shortages. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in search of relief. A lower than normal forecast for the current rainy season means the suffering could continue.

Human-caused climate change has made droughts so severe gravity at least 100 times more likely in this part of Africa than they were in the pre-industrial era, an international team of scientists said in a study published Thursday. The results starkly illustrate the misery that the burning of fossil fuels, primarily by rich countries, inflicts on societies that emit next to nothing in comparison.

In some parts of the nations hardest hit by drought — Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia — climatic hazards have piled on top of political and economic vulnerabilities. The region's chain of low rainy seasons is now the longest in about 70 years of reliable rainfall records. But according to the study, what made this drought exceptional was not just the lack of rain, but the high temperatures that dried out the land.

The The study estimated that periods as hot and dry as the recent now have about a 5% chance of developing each year in the region - a figure that is set to increase as the planet continues to warm, a said Joyce Kimutai, senior meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorological Department and the lead author of the study. "We're likely to see the combined effect of low rainfall with temperatures causing truly exceptional droughts in this part of the world."

Climate groups have for years pointed out the calamity in East Africa as evidence of the immense damage inflicted on poor regions by global warming due to emissions of heat-trapping gases. The new analysis could give more ammunition to those who urge polluting countries to pay for the economic damage attributable to their emissions.

"This vital study shows that climate change is not just something our children need to worry about – it's already here,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a think tank in Nairobi, Kenya. climate crisis need and deserve financial assistance to recover and rebuild their lives."

ImageTerres droughts in southwestern Somalia in the fall. Drought may have caused around 43,000 additional deaths in the country last year. In Egypt, diplomats from nearly 200 countries have agreed to establish a fund to helping vulnerable countries deal with climate disasters.

"Now we need to make sure the fund is fit for purpose," said Harjeet Singh, Head of policy strategy for Climate Action Network International...