the Horn of Africa is preparing for a difficult 5th rainy season

All international organizations have launched alert calls since the beginning of the year. The threat is becoming clearer. The Horn of Africa, where the risk of famine is growing due to a historic drought, is preparing for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency . “Aid agencies have told you a lot about the terrible drought in the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, you are going to hear even more about it in the weeks and months to come, as the drought will continue,” WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said. The Climate Outlook Forum for the Horn of Africa region, which brings together including climatologists and humanitarian organizations, met in recent days, and published its forecasts for the rainy season from October to December.

Forecasts show a high probability of drier than average conditions in most parts of the Horn of Africa, said Clare Nullis, making this the 5th consecutive missed rainy season. “In particular, drought-affected regions in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are expected to receive insufficient rainfall until the end of the year”, she added. The rainy season from October to December in the equatorial parts of the Horn of Africa contributes up to 70% of the total annual rainfall, especially in eastern Kenya.

At the beginning of 2022, the World Food Program (WFP) called for the mobilization of funds to come to the aid of the 13 million people then threatened by hunger in the Horn of Africa. And on August 19, the organization said at least 22 million people would be at risk of hunger by September. For several months, humanitarian organizations have been increasing alerts on the deterioration of the situation in the Horn of Africa, which raises fears of a tragedy similar to that of 2011, the last famine which killed 260,000 people in Somalia.

In a statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that“by acting now, we can save millions of lives”. According to the WHO, 700,000 people are already at risk of famine in parts of Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.


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