Historic El Nio threat raises fresh risks for Kenya's economy and food security

Residents struggle with floods following a downpour at Bamburi in Mombasa County on November 17, 2023.[File-Standard]

Kenya is staring down the barrel of its most powerful El Nino in more than four decades, with forecasters and economists warning of a potential catastrophe that threatens to overwhelm a cash-strapped government already grappling with slowing growth, rising inflation and depleted fiscal buffers.

The anticipated El Nino could tip Kenya's strained economy into deeper crisis, the analysts warn, as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) – a key measure of the phenomenon's intensity – plunged to -29.1 in July, its lowest level since February 1983, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.