Global warming amplifies the devastating effects of El Niño in Kenya and Thailand

Torrential rains in Kenya and crushing heat waves in Thailand. In Africa and Asia, the El Niño weather phenomenon, combined with the effects of global warming, is having dramatic consequences.

The rupture of a natural dam left at least 47 dead and 76 missing in central Kenya on the night of Sunday April 28 to Monday April 29, 2024, according to a latest report, still provisional, from local authorities. The dam burst due to the torrential rains that have been hitting the country for several weeks. It is the deadliest episode in this East African country since the start of the rainy season, which is amplified this year by the El Niño meteorological phenomenon.

In Thailand, the country and the entire South Asian region have been experiencing an overwhelming heat wave for several weeks. On Monday April 29, 44 degrees were recorded in northern Thailand. Bangladesh and the Philippines have closed thousands of schools. Here again, these are the consequences of the high temperatures in the Pacific Ocean caused by the El Niño phenomenon, which combines with global warming.

Kenya: heavy rains for several weeks

Kenya is experiencing a new tragedy. A water reservoir collapsed on the night of Sunday April 28 due to heavy rains, about sixty kilometers north of the capital. At least 47 people have lost their lives, more than 70 are missing. Heavy rains have been affecting the country for several weeks. Initially, the authorities mentioned the collapse of a dam, but the flow would have come from a tunnel blocked by debris from a previous slide which would have formed, over time, a reservoir of water. With the heavy rains, its earthen buttresses gave way. All the water poured onto the village below and washed away everything in its path.

The search continues this Tuesday, April 30 among the debris. The Kenyan Red Cross improvised a reception area in a nearby school. Families came to report their missing loved ones, more than 200 people took refuge there after finding themselves on the street. Other people climbed onto the roof of their homes and described seeing huge waves coming. A man who lost his wife described rescuing his children one by one from the waters. Residents lost loved ones, their livestock, their homes.

More than 170 deaths since the start of the rainy season

This is not the first tragedy linked to heavy rains in Kenya in recent weeks. There have been more than 170 deaths since the start of the rainy season in March. The latter was amplified by El Niño. The climatic phenomenon causes very heavy rainfall in East Africa. Last week, a Nairobi slum was submerged under water. More than 180,000 people have been displaced across the country. The start of the school year which was to take place on Monday was postponed by a week, to May 6. President William Ruto urgently summoned his government this Tuesday, April 30 in the morning. El Niño has actually been affecting the entire region for several weeks. In Tanzania, at least 155 people have lost their lives due to floods or landslides.

Thailand has massive use of air conditioning

The heat is difficult to bear on a daily basis in Thailand, it is more than 40 degrees everywhere in the country, as for the temperatures felt, what the Anglo-Saxons call the heat index, which takes into account humidity, a factor important for the human body to regulate heat, they are estimated at 50 degrees. These are the consequences of the high temperatures in the Pacific Ocean caused by the El Niño phenomenon, which combines with global warming. Record temperatures were already attributed to it in 2023, it seems that in 2024 the same situation will repeat itself.

It’s all life that is reorganized with a lot of activities in the morning very early from 5 a.m. and also late in the evening. During the day, those who can stay at home, those who have to go out arm themselves with umbrellas and wet cloths which they put on their heads. The urban middle classes have massive access to air conditioning, to the point that electricity consumption has exploded in recent days, giving rise to several outages. But the massive use of air conditioning contributes to further increasing outdoor temperatures in the city.

Rice cultivation under threat

The most affected areThe most fragile, the elderly, the sick and especially the poorest, are often forced to work outside the home. Construction site workers, street vendors, motorcycle taxi drivers… Health authorities are calling for vigilance, at least 30 deaths from sunstroke have been recorded in recent weeks. In homes without air conditioning, the heat barely drops at night, making sleep difficult. Two-wheeler accidents are increasing because it is painful to obey red lights if you are in direct sunlight. In the southern islands of the country, warming is causing the destruction of several underwater species, including coral, and the cultivation of rice, the backbone of the region’s economy, is also threatened. Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change and could see the number of days of extreme heat increase to 220 per year over the next decade.