Ethiopia Braces for Deeper Drought as Govt Authority Predicts Fifth Failed Rainy Season: Ethiopia Drought ClimateChange
The forecast was released on August 26, 2022 and concluded that the Greater Horn of Africa will likely see drier-than-average conditions in most areas from October to December 2022.
IGAD projected that Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia's drought-stricken regions will not get enough rain until the end of the year. It is a major setback for authorities in Ethiopia that were expecting rainfall conditions to improve this year. Drought has killed almost 3.5 million cattle in Ethiopia. At least 36.1 million people in the Horn of Africa are presently impacted by the drought, which started in October 2020. This number includes 24.1 million in Ethiopia, 7.8 million in Somalia, and 4.2 million in Kenya.
Guleid Artan, director of IGAD'S Climate Prediction and Applications Centre , says Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. About 4.6 million children are acutely malnourished in these three countries. Two million of them are in Ethiopia. "It pains me to be the bearer of bad news, when millions of people in the region have already suffered the longest drought in 40 years. Sadly, our models show with a high degree of confidence that we are entering the fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa.