An international team of climate scientists affiliated with the climate research group World Weather Attribution (WWA) has found that increased greenhouse gas emissions are increasing drought in the Horn of Africa at least 100 times more.
The analysis released by WWA stated that Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia had five “unsuccessful” rainy seasons in a row since October 2020, while aid agencies described it as “the worst drought in the last 40 years”.
In the analysis, which stated that approximately 4.35 million people in the Horn of Africa were in serious need of humanitarian aid due to drought, it was evaluated that approximately 43 thousand people lost their lives in Somalia last year due to drought-related causes and such a situation would not have happened if climate change was not in question.
Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist from the Kenya Meteorology Department working with WWA, said that climate change has made this drought exceptional, and explained that together with the team, they determined that in a colder world, the combination of low precipitation and evaporation would not lead to drought at all.
The WWA team revealed that, due to climate change, long rains that start in March and throughout May in the Horn of Africa are 2 times less likely to be seen, while short-term rains that begin in October and fall throughout December are more likely to occur.
“This drought is primarily due to the strong increase in evaporation demand caused by high temperatures,” Kimutai said. said.
Kimutai stated that they have predicted that the sixth rainy season will also fail, but the region has started to rain, albeit a little.
Kimutai said that much more rain is needed to help farmers recover, but that the region’s rainfall these days is very positive.